''Lobostemon collinus'', the pyjamabush or iron healthbush, is a species belonging to the forget me not family. It is known only from the

fynbos Fynbos (; , ) is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. The area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean climate. The fynbos ...

biome of the

Western Cape The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , an ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Description

This shrublet grows tall. The stalkless leaves are leathery and oblong. They may or may not be hairy.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 September and August. The pale blue flowers are borne in cymes and are hairy on the outside. The staminal scales are ridge-like and lack lobes. The style is hairy.

Distribution and habitat

This species is found in five locations between Elim and

Bredasdorp Bredasdorp is a town in the Southern Overberg region of the Western Cape, South Africa, and the main economic and service hub of that region. It lies on the northern edge of the Agulhas Plain, about south-east of Cape Town and north of Cape Agu ...

.Buys, M.H., Helme, N.A. & Raimondo, D. 2006
Lobostemon collinus Schltr. ex C.H.Wright
National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version 2020.1. Accessed on 2021/08/17 It is only known from Elim Ferricrete Fynbos. It grows on stony coastal flats.

Conservation

This species is classed as endangered by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). Its habitat has historically been severely ploughed for the cultivation of wheat and proteas. This is ongoing in the Bredasdorp region. It is also threatened by invasive alien plants. The only subpopulation in Elim occurs on a

road verge A road verge is a strip of groundcover consisting of grass or garden plants, and sometimes also shrubs and trees, located between a roadway and a sidewalk. Verges are known by dozens of other names such as grass strip, nature strip, curb s ...

and is threatened by road expansion.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15590595 Boraginaceae Plants described in 1905 Endemic flora of the Cape Provinces Taxa named by Rudolf Schlechter