Pteronia incana

Shrub with branching from base, up to 1 m. Leaves blue-grey and woolly, small. Flowerheads, solitary at branch tips, consist of only disc florets (no ray florets). Florets yellow. Flowers from September to October.

The vernacular name is derived either from the ashy colour of P. incana (especially in dry summer months) or the traditional use of ash from the shrub in preparation of lye for producing soap (“boerseep”). P. incana has a characteristic “Karoobossie” smell, but is not palatable to livestock.

Distribution in the Hex

Sand or clay flats or slopes in De Doorns Renosterveld Karoo. Also bordering on 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.