Pelargonium spinosum grey stems and spines

The much-branched stems of Pelargonium spinosum become whitish grey with age, sparsely leaved in the photo and armed with many flat-tipped spines. The spines are the persistent and hardened leaf petioles (stalks) that gave the species its name, spinosum. The Afrikaans name of gifdoring is deserved by these leaf petioles that start off green, turning pale yellow and later whitish grey.

Apart from becoming tall, the branches may spread to a wide, bushy shape, one of the largest pelargoniums of the arid northwest of South Africa (Frandsen, 2017; Le Roux, et al, 2005; iNaturalist; www.bihrmann.com; www.pelargonium.si).