Tetraria thermalis

Tetraria thermalis, commonly known in Afrikaans as bergpalmiet (mountain bulrush) and previously scientifically Schoenus thermalis, is a tufted perennial, a robust grower to 2,5 m in height.

The coarse, wiry leaves are yellow-green, arching backwards. They are sword-shaped and keeled with sharp, entire margins that can cut into flesh. At the base the leaves become 3 cm wide, tapering to acutely pointed tips.

The flowering stems are solid, three-sided and erect, well above the leaves. The flowers are clustered spikelets spaced up the stems, subtended by dusky-brown bracts that overlap. A few stem-leaves curve outwards below the inflorescence. Flowering happens in winter to after midspring.

The species distribution is in the southwest of the Western Cape from the Cape Peninsula to Riversdale. The habitat is flats and sandstone slopes lower than 1000 m in places with relatively cool conditions. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century.

There are about 50 species of Tetraria in Africa and Australasia, 38 of which are found in the fynbos (Manning, 2007; Bean and Johns, 2005; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).