Aspalathus linearis

Erect perennial shrub up to 2 m, much smaller in the Hex (50 cm). Leaves unifoliolate, needle-like and more or less hairless/smooth. Sometimes red brown. Aromatic when dried. Flowers (August to February) on a raceme on branch tips; yellow or partly purple; wings hairless; keel hairy; calyx hairless or shortly hairy; lobes triangular.

Dried and fermented leaves and branches of A. linearis are used to prepare rooibos tea, a caffein-free and anti-oxidant rich beverage that originates from the Khoi-San people.

Distribution in the Hex

Lower to higher slopes of De Doorns Sandstone Fynbos.

References

• Manning, J. & Goldblatt, P. 2012. Plants of the Greater Cape Floristic Region 1: the Core Cape flora, Strelitzia 29. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria.