Anaxeton asperum subsp. asperum

Anaxeton asperum subsp. asperum is a straggly shrublet reaching heights from 10 cm to 30 cm. Its grey-woolly branches grow erectly, bearing alternate and sessile (stalkless) leaves, ascending fairly densely up the stems.

The leaf shape is narrowly oblong or linear, ending in sharp, almost prickly tips. The leaf colour is dark green and shiny on top, white-woolly below. The leaves are from 5 mm to 35 mm long.

Endemic to the Western Cape, the species is distributed from the Cape Peninsula to Stellenbosch, Caledon and Bredasdorp. This plant was seen in Fernkloof at Hermanus in October.

The habitat is fynbos in sandy soil on stony sandstone slopes from sea level to 1200 m. The subspecies is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century.

There is a second subspecies, viz. subsp. pauciflorum, also in the Western Cape. There are ten species in the Anaxeton genus, all occurring in fynbos of the Western Cape (Bean and Johns, 2005; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iSpot; www.redlist.sanbi.org).