''Lobostemon glaucophyllus'', the smooth-leaved bush bugloss or grey healthbush, is a
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 ...
n plant 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 South Africa's
Cape Provinces.
Description
This resprouting shrub grows up to tall. The stemless leaves are oblong or lance-like in shape. While the tops of the leaves appear hairless, they are covered in sparse hairs that are largely confined to the margin and apex.
[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]
Flowers are present between July and October.
They are borne in cymes and are blue or pink to cream in colour.
The young young flowering axis is unelongated with the flower buds loosely arranged to form a globose unit. These may or may not spread greatly in the fruiting stage.
There are five (or rarely six) stamens which protrude slightly. The staminal scales are rounded and are located about a quarter of a way up the corolla tube.
Distribution and habitat
While 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
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 ...
, this species is relatively widely distributed, occurring from Spektakelberg near
Springbok in the north to
Kleinmond in the south. There is also an isolated population in the
Gamka Mountain Reserve.
It frequently occurs on granitic soils in the southern parts of its range, where leaves tend to be larger. It also occurs in the more limey soils of the sand plain fynbos, the sandstone soils of the mountain fynbos and the sandy soils of the western coastal plains.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15591169
Boraginaceae
Plants described in 1837
Endemic flora of the Cape Provinces