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''Lobostemon decorus'', the Rooiberg healthbush, is a species belonging to the forget-me-not family. It is
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to the
Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...
of
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
.


Description

This shrublet grows tall. The stalkless leaves are hairy near the tips. They are narrow and oblong in shape.BODATSA: Botanical Collections. v1.4. South African National Biodiversity Institute. Dataset/Occurrence. http://ipt.sanbi.org.za/iptsanbi/resource?r=brahms_online&v=1.4 Funnel-shaped flowers are present between August and October. They are blue with hairs on the outside and are borne in cymes. The flower buds are loosely arranged to form a globose unit, spreading slightly as they mature. There at least three flowers per cymule. Each flower is long, with the anterior petal lobes being larger than the rest. The anthers are borne on short filaments and the stamens only rarely protrude past the petals. The staminal scales are ridge-like and do not have lateral lobes. They occur well below the throat of the corolla tube, being inserted about above the base. This species has been confused with '' Lobostemon marlothii''. There are, however a few features that can be used to distinguish between the two. ''Lobostemon decorus'' has a longer calyx, fewer flowers per inflorescence, pale blue flowers (compared to deep blue with a pinkish base in ''L. marlothii'') and narrowly oblong leaves (compared to the wider and often more lance-like leaves in ''L. marlothii'').


Distribution and habitat

This species is found growing at Touwsberg and Rooiberg, where it grows on sandstone slopes. It usually occurs at an altitude greater than .


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17414802 Boraginaceae Endemic flora of the Cape Provinces Plants described in 1934