Restricted plant view

Harpagophytum procumbens (Burch.) DC.

Colour plate of live plant
Note Illustration from: Jill Adams (1976), Wild Flowers of theNorthern Cape.
Department of Nature and Environmental Conservation of theProvincial Administration of the Cape of Good Hope, CapeTown.
1, 2 Prostrate, mat-forming perennial herb with several annual stems from a succulent taproot, with additional tubers on lateral roots, growing to 1,5m in length; leaves narrowly ovate to ovate, up to 65mm long x 40mm wide, petiole 30-45mm long, pinnately lobed, clothed with glandular hairs, the underside densely pubescent; flowers (Dec-Feb) borne singly in leaf axils, bright pink to magenta, tubular, with corolla limb purple or yellow, up to 7cm long; fruit a large, claw-like, dehiscent bilocular capsule, flattened at right angles to the septum, armed along the edges with four rows of woody arms up to 8cm long and bearing recurved spines.
References:
1 Dyer, R.A. (1975).The genera of Southern African flowering plants. Vol 1. Dicotyledons. BotanicalResearch Institute, Pretoria.
2 Ihlenfeldt, (1988). The genus Harpagophytum. Flora Zambesiaca 8(3): 109-113.