Hermannia filifolia var. grandicalyx

Hermannia filifolia var. grandicalyx, in Afrikaans going under the strangely contrived name of mooiblompleisterbos (pretty flower plaster bush), is a branched shrublet that reaches heights taller than 50 cm. The stems are pale pink or yellow, grey lower down on old wood.

The blue-green leaves grow in ascending, spaced tufts along the stems. The leaves are narrow, strap-shaped and hairless or slightly hairy on their margins, especially near the tips.

The flowers grow from leaf axils near branch tips. The nodding flower has a spirally twisted corolla, red or maroon in colour. The five petals flare at their tips, giving a glimpse of some yellow in the petal centres. The flower is here seen from below; its position on the plant usually pendulous. The pale beige calyx spreads widely, well away from the corolla by lifting its narrow, curved lobes.

This variety grows in the central parts of the Karoo as well as in the Little Karoo.

It is drought resistant and palatable to livestock and game. The species overall is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; www.plantzafrica.com; http://redlist.sanbi.org).