Phaenocoma prolifera

Phaenocoma prolifera, commonly known as the Cape everlasting or false everlasting, and in Afrikaans as the rooisewejaartjie (red everlasting or red little seven year), is an erect, woolly-stemmed shrublet reaching about 60 cm in height. This single-stemmed plant reseeds after fire. It cannot resprout as the multistemmed fynbos shrubs do from their thick rootstocks or lignotubers. The lignotubers grow several stems from ground-level rapidly after fire in headstart over reseeders. P. prolifera is the only species in its genus, a monotypic one.

Solitary, stem-tip flowerheads are produced, surrounded by several rows of multicoloured, glossy pink, red or partly whitish, pointed bracts. Flowerhead diameter is about 2,5 cm. Blooming happens from spring to autumn. 

The species distribution is in the south of the Western Cape, from the Cape Peninsula along the mountain ranges northwards to Ceres and eastwards to Ladismith and the Outeniqua Mountains.

The habitat is coastal and montane fynbos slopes in sandstone. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Manning, 2007; Bean and Johns, 2005; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).