Lachnaea eriocephala

Lachnaea eriocephala, sometimes commonly called the carnation stripper, in Afrikaans the bergangelier (mountain carnation) and previously scientifically L. purpurea, is an erect, ericoid, sometimes sparsely branched shrublet reaching heights from 40 cm to 60 cm.

The species is endemic to the far southwest of the Western Cape, from the Cape Peninsula to Malmesbury, Tulbagh, Betty’s Bay and Caledon. The photo was taken in Sir Lowry’s Pass.

The habitat is sandstone derived fynbos slopes at elevations from 100 m to 500 m. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century (Manning, 2007; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist; https://pza.sanbi.org; https://www.worldfloraonline.org; http://redlist.sanbi.org).