Pelargonium hispidum

Pelargonium hispidum is an erect shrub of over 2 m in height. The name grootblaarmalva (big leaf pelargonium) suggests the large lobed and toothed leaves with their conspicuous coarse hairs and strong scent when crushed.

The flowers grow in umbel-shaped clusters. The pedicels are hairy and sometimes dark red, the longer peduncle thicker, hairy and mostly green. The calyx tube is up to 4 mm long. The small flowers have pink petals, marked with purple. The upper pair of petals much bigger than the lower three. The stamen length varies, four of the seven longer, one intermediate and a couple shorter. The straight or later curving filaments are white, the oblong, two-lobed anthers red brown. Flowering happens in spring and early summer.

The species distribution is in the Western Cape from Piketberg to Bredasdorp and the Swartberg Mountain range, north of Oudtshoorn. 

The habitat is lower mountain slopes and near streams. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; iNaturalist; www.plantzafrica.com; http://redlist.sanbi.org).