Gnidia squarrosa

Gnidia squarrosa is a much-branched shrub growing to 2 m in height. The dense clusters of creamy green calyx tube flowers appear in late winter and spring. Some flowers have a variable pinkish hue added. They are usually fragrant at night.

This plant is found in nature from the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape northwards into the Free State, also in Lesotho.

The habitat is coastal scrub on limestone and sandy slopes. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century.

The plant is also cultivated in gardens where its incidence is rising, best grown from cuttings. The slender or willowy growth habit is sometimes dealt with by pruning of the young plants to create a good garden shrub shape (Manning, 2007; www.plantzafrica.com; http://redlist.sanbi.org).