Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden, South Africa

Common name: powdered-leaf pelargonium, iKhubalo likaMlanjeni

Family: Geraniaceae (Geranium)

Synonym: Pelargonium hollandii

Distribution: Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal

Habitat: coastal grasslands

IUCN Red list: Not evaluated

National red list: Least Concern

Life form: Geophyte (bulb, corm or tuber - seasonally dormant)

Comments: This deciduous geophytic species has an elongated woody tuber with cracked bark. The Xhosa Prophet Mlanjeni used it as a war charm and instructed the Xhosa nation to rub its juices over their bodies to protect them from bullets during the eighth British Frontier War. The leaves are variable in shape but usually deeply cleft, almost to the midrib. The above ground part of the plant develops no branches, sending up only a few leaves and the flower stem. Usually flowers in the middle of the summer. Pelargonium pulverulentum means powdery-white. The powder on the leaves appears after bloomin.