Saltera sarcocolla (L.) Bullock

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Saltera sarcocolla belongs to the Penaeaceae, which is a family confined to the fynbos region. Despite interesting variations in plant and flower size, groupings and colour, there is only one species in the genus Saltera.

Saltera sarcocolla is a medium-sized, sturdy, upright shrub producing strong stems coppicing from a persistent, woody, underground root-stock. It has an open bushy habit growing up to 1.0-1.5 m in height, although smaller forms also occur.

The leaves are broadly egg-shaped and distinctively arranged in closely ranked, alternately opposite pairs along the upper stems. The branches below the leafy parts are knotty from leaf scars. The leaves are leathery, grey-green and covered with a waxy bloom. The upper leaves merge into pale, sticky, relatively large yellowish-brown bracts or bract-like leaves, which enclose the cylindrical flowers that are presented at the ends of the branches. The bright, attractive colour is mainly provided by the four, reflexed, sticky, pink-mauve lobes at the end of each flower tube.

There is conspicuous variation in Saltera. As a general rule those populations on the southern Cape Peninsula and closer to the coast at Hangklip, Betty's Bay, Hawston Danger Point and the Soetanysberg (Bredasdorp District) are smaller shrubs with single flowers. Transitional forms are found on the Cape Peninsula in Red Hill and Fish Hoek mountains and off the peninsula at Pringle East Peak. Larger, multi-flowered forms are found on the Muizenberg and Steenberg Mountains and north to Table Mountain, excepting above Camps Bay where they are unifloral. Off the peninsula large flowered forms are found on the Hottentots Holland Mountains from Sir Lowry's Pass to Rooi Els, Palmiet River Mountains, Houwhoek, Franschhoek, east to the Klein River Mountains and Villiersdorp to Genadendal.

The flowers are normally aggregated into groups of four; however variation exits. The most notable exception is on the southern Cape Peninsula where the species becomes a smaller, depauperated form with single flowers. This smaller form is nevertheless very attractive. The main flowering time is from August to September.

The flowers and bracts age to become crispy-brown sticky clumps at the ends of the branches. When opened these reveal four elongated, pointed capsules that split open when dry to reveal four chambers. The seeds are small, narrowly obovate (elongated and rounded at each end) and neatly tucked into each chamber. Each seed is complete with an aril at one end.

Saltera sarcocolla | PlantZAfrica (sanbi.org)

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