Tetragonia fruticosa

Tetragonia fruticosa, the kinkelbos or waterslaaibos in Afrikaans, has oblong succulent leaves of varying width and small yellow flowers appearing in late winter and spring. Fruticosus (Latin) means bushy.

T. fruticosa is found in the Western Cape, the Little Karoo, Namaqualand and the Eastern Cape. The plants grow in nature on coastal dunes and inland in semi-arid to arid parts, on sandstone and granite slopes and flats in sandy or loamy soils. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century.

The genus Tetragonia belongs to the Aizoaceae, ice plant or vygie family and is commonly referred to as sea coral or klappiesbrak (Afrikaans).(Manning, 2007; Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2010; http://redlist.sanbi.org).