Hermannia trifurca

Hermannia trifurca, sometimes commonly called the purple dollsrose and in Afrikaans broodbos (bread bush), is a twiggy and hairy shrublet reaching heights from 1 m to 1,5 m. The bush grows from a single stem, not resprouting after fire.

Among the Afrikaans common names of the plant are koerasie and koerasiebos, a mutilation or corruption in translation of the English word courage, referring to spunk or libido. An earlier scientific name for the plant was H. hilaris. Hilaris (Latin) means cheerful. Maybe the names H. hilaris and koerasie convey different takes of the same notion.

The species distribution is in parts of the Northern Cape and the Western Cape, also beyond the border, at least in Namibia.

The habitat is stony and sandy soils in arid and winter rainfall conditions, often in renosterveld or Karoo scrub. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century.

Leaves and flowers of several Hermannia species are eaten, mostly by children. The range of human beliefs include imagination and fantasy. It is possible that some expect a heightened libido from ingesting certain parts of this plant. Beliefs are sometimes useful in overcoming obstacles. Similar fantasies are associated with abalone and rhino horn (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Manning, 2007; Manning and Goldblatt, 1997; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).