About Paranomus bracteolaris Knight
This species, scientifically named Paranomus bracteolaris Knight, is a monoecious shrub that grows up to 2 metres (6.6 feet) tall. It flowers from August to October. Its leaves are finely divided into needle-shaped acicular segments, and are hairy when young. The purple-pink flowers, which measure 20–25 mm (0.79–0.98 in) long, grow in small clusters along veins at the tips of branches. While fire kills the adult plant, its seeds can survive fire events. Individual plants are bisexual, and pollination is carried out by insects. The fruit ripens two months after flowering, after which seeds fall to the ground and are spread by ants. In Afrikaans, this plant has multiple common names: bokkeveld-septerboom, afveebos, balbyterbos, haakbos, heuningbos, kloofbesem, perdebos, sousbos, trosbos, and vliegbos. It holds the national number 72.3 on the official list of South African indigenous trees. This plant is distributed in the Bokkeveld Carp, Cold Bokkeveld, and Olifants River Mountains of South Africa. It grows in sandstone soil at altitudes between 250 and 1,300 m (820–4,270 ft).
