Pelargonium incrassatum [T'neitjie]

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Rørslett, B. 2022. Pelargonium incrassatum (Andrews) Sims. Geraniaceae. T'neitjie. South-African flowers photographed in ultraviolet (UV) and visible light. LINK

 

T'neitjie is the name of the plant in the indigenous Khoekhoe language of Namaqualand. The meaning is not known.

Reference:

Christie, C.R. (2019) Khoekhoe Lexical Borrowing in Namaqualand Afrikaans, Rhodes University. (PDF)

 

This is a small perennial geophyte mostly just 0.3m tall, found on the dry upland plains of the Cape Provinces of South Africa. The flowers are abundant, up to 60,  in a large umbel-like cluster and display almost shockingly strong magenta colour.  The flowers are strongly zygomorphic as well, with the two upper petals being much larger than the others.

 

The endemic distribution is evident from the map below (from http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/details.php?langue=an&id=10437),

 

 

Such strong magenta colours tax the digital camera to its limit,

 

 

 

The appearance in ultraviolert (UV) is less stellar but intriguing with darker and brighter areas and a shimmering effect presumably due to the presence of conical cells on the petals,

 

 

 

 

All  photographs on this page are copyright Birna Rørslett and may not be used without explicit permission from the author.

 

Literature for species identification:

SNIJMAN, D.A. (ed.). 2013. Plants of the Greater Cape Floristic Region, Vol. 2: the Extra Cape
flora. Strelitzia 30. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria.

 

[Published 12 February, 2022]