Roella incurva

Roella incurva is an erect or sprawling, branched shrublet of up to 40 cm tall with incurving, narrow, awl-like leaves. They are often hard, hairy and toothed with spiny prickles. The leaves often grow in axillary tufts. The stems are covered in white hairs.

The flowers are sessile, growing in groups of up to three at stem-tips. The narrow bracts at the flower base are longer than the leaves. The five white or blue petals form a flower cup at their lower ends, recurving and tapering gracefully towards their pointed tips. There is usually a conspicuous dark blotch, ringed with white, midway up each petal at the rim of the cup.

The species distribution is in the southwest of the Western Cape from the Cape Peninsula as far north as Tulbagh and as far east as Swellendam.

The habitat is sandy, lower, fynbos slopes. The species is not considered threatened in habitat early in the twenty first century (Manning, 2007; Bean and Johns, 2005; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).