Struthiola ciliata

Struthiola ciliata, commonly known as evening gonna or limp gonna and in Afrikaans as the stroopbos (syrup bush), is a variable, ericoid shrub that exudes a strong flower scent at night and reaches heights around 1,5 m.

The cream, pink or reddish flowers grow from leaf axils. They have long, narrow tubes with eight hairy scales at the throat, above the four spreading sepal lobes. These scales produce the compound that delivers the fragrance at night. It invites certain moths at dusk, and in the early evening to pollinate flowers while feeding on nectar. S. ciliata blooms throughout the year.

The plants occur in the Western Cape from the Cape Peninsula northwards to the Namaqualand Klipkoppe in the Northern Cape and eastwards, maybe as far as Gqeberha. The photo was taken on the Piketberg Mountain.

The habitat is fynbos slopes and sandy flats. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century (Marais, (Ed.), 2017; Manning, 2007; Le Roux, et al, 2005; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; Makholela and Manning, 2006, SA Journal of Botany; iNaturalist; www.plantzafrica.com; https://redlist.sanbi.org).