Eriocephalus ericoides subsp. ericoides

Eriocephalus ericoides subsp. ericoides is a branched evergreen shrub that grows to 1 m. It does not sprout after fire.

The young leaves are woolly, old ones hairless. Leaves are small, clustered densely along the branches. On the plant in photo the leaves are yellowish green, while grey-green forms are also found.

The distribution is large, ranging across the semi-arid parts of the Western Cape and Northern Cape Karoo and Namaqualand, as well as in parts of the Eastern Cape and the Free State, also in Namibia. The photo was taken near Barrydale in October.

The plant grows in clay and sandy soils on flats and slopes. The subspecies is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century.

The other subspecies, E. ericoides subsp. griquensis, only occurs in the Northern Cape and north of the Gariep as far as Botswana and Namibia (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2010; www.plantzafrica.com; http://redlist.sanbi.org).