Sebaea aurea

Sebaea aurea, sometimes commonly the golden yellowwort, is an erect annual, a short-lived herb branching near its top. The plant reaches about 30 cm, often well shorter.

The hairless, pale green leaves are opposite, spaced along the soft stems. Leaf-shape is narrowly ovate, tapering to a pointed tip. Leaf texture is fleshy, glistening in sunlight. Leaves become up to 1,5 cm long.

The species distribution is in the Western Cape from Clanwilliam to the Eastern Cape as far as Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). This plant was seen in the Kogelberg during November.

The habitat is lower fynbos and renosterveld slopes and flats that are often sandy and moist. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century.

Twenty of the sixty Sebaea species, a genus of the Gentianaceae family, are found in the fynbos (Curtis-Scott, et al, 2020; Privett and Lutzeyer, 2010; Manning, 2007; iNaturalist; iSpot; http://redlist.sanbi.org).