Sida cordifolia subsp. cordifolia

Sida cordifolia subsp. cordifolia, commonly known as flannelweed or heart-leaf sida, in Afrikaans as verdompsterk (damn strong) and hartblaartaaiman (heart-leaf tough man), is a soft shrub, erect or spreading, reaching 50 cm to 1 m in height. Almost all plant parts have a velvety covering of soft, short hairs, hence the flannel of the name.

Originally from India, the plant is a weed in Africa, Australia, the southern United States and remote islands like Hawaii, New Guinea, and French Polynesia. In South Africa it occurs widespread in the north of the country from inland parts of the Northern Cape, North West, everywhere north of the Vaal River and KwaZulu-Natal.

The plant invades disturbed land like roadsides, cultivated and overgrazed fields, favouring sandy soil. The references to toughness in some common names indicate the presence of the deep, woody taproot resisting physical eradication and belying the epithets soft and velvety featuring in descriptions of this plant. There is low expectation of threat to its continuation early in the twenty first century (Pooley, 1998; Van Wyk and Malan, 1997; Onderstall, 1996; Leistner, (Ed.), 2000; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).