Erythrina zeyheri

Erythrina zeyheri, commonly known in Afrikaans as the ploegbreker (plough breaker), is a dwarf, deciduous shrublet or suffrutex reaching heights from 30 cm to 60 cm. Above-ground parts grow annually from a large underground stem. The stems are slender, bearing short, sharp, recurving prickles.

The colour variations of the flowers indicate that these are truly separate plants with different DNA, not merely outcrops of one and the same underground stem system. In the well-known and much photographed stand of these plants near the Blinkwater Mills next to the public road to Stofberg and Roossenekal, several flower and leaf variations of E. zeyheri are spectacular most years. This photo was taken during October.

The species distribution is across the centre of South Africa, from the Northern Cape, North West, the Free State, Gauteng and Mpumalanga, as well as in some neighbouring countries.

The habitat is open grassland. E. zeyheri, has much invisible bulk on a mature specimen, reaching down several meters below ground, while the above-ground components disappear in the off-season. These underground stems are rued by ploughing farmers when an expensive ploughshare encounters the hefty, invisible obstacle unexpectedly. Apart from being out of reach of fire and other dangers, the plant also accesses moisture from the depths and stores it. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Pooley, 1998; Van Wyk and Malan, 1997; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).