Prismatocarpus species

This Prismatocarpus plant with purplish blue flowers was found east of Kuruman during December. There are many species of this genus in the Western Cape, a few in Namaqualand, 31 in all.  Almost all of them are indigenous in South Africa. Prismatocarpus, a genus of the Campanulaceae family, comprises mainly slender-stemmed shrublets or perennial herbs. The wiry stems on which these flowers appear are typical of Prismatocarpus.

Five-pointed star-shaped flowers with white or blue corollas are common in the genus. This flower has three fleshy lobes on its stigma; there are usually just two. The fruits of Prismatocarpus plants are cylindrical, splitting longitudinally into five strips.

Prismatocarpus means prism-shaped fruit (Manning, 2009; iSpot).