Pelargonium pulchellum

Pelargonium pulchellum, sometimes called the graceful geranium and in Afrikaans sometimes the asem-snak malva (gasp for breath pelargonium), is a low-growing herb with a woody stem base.

The plant produces erect flower stems up to 30 cm tall. Umbel-shaped clusters of five to twenty white flowers are grown at stem tips. The two, slightly larger upper petals, the posterior pair, are borne close together. They are obovate in shape with rounded or notched tips and unmarked. The lower three are similarly shaped, angled away from each other. Small, scarlet to maroon line markings or blotches are found near the bases of these lower three, the anterior petals.

The specific name, pulchellum, is a Latin word meaning beautiful or pretty, referring to the flowers. The flower diameter is about 2,5 cm. Flowering happens from before midwinter to after midspring.

The species distribution is in the west of the Northern Cape, in Namaqualand from Garies to the Richtersveld.

The habitat is usually exposed on rocky outcrops and sandy slopes in granite derived soils. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century (Williamson, 2010; Le Roux, et al, 2005; Eliovson, 1990; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).