Pelargonium anethifolium Steud.

A geophyte with exposed parts ephemeral, poorly developed, mostly unbranched, unarmed, up to 250 mm tall when in flower. Exposed stems up to 80 mm long and 8 mm in diameter, smooth but covered with remains of petioles and stipules, initially succulent but becoming woody with age, glabrous, green. Leaves 2-3x divided into linear segments, membranous, indumentum adaxially inconspicuous: microscopically sparsely strigose with a few glandular hairs interspersed, dull green and sometimes tinted with red; lamina obtusely triangular or ovate in outline, lamina less than 2x as long as wide: 80-130 x 60-110 mm, segments 0.5-1.0 mm wide and branching off rachis at acute angle, apices of segments acute; petiole up to 170 mm long and 2-4 mm in diameter, persistent; stipules deltoid to cordiform with apices acute, 3-7 x 3-5 mm, membranous but becoming scarious, ciliate but glabrescent, not caducous. Inflorescence an unbranched peduncle up to 190 mm long and up to 2.5 mm thick, carrying a 6-10-flowered pseudo-umbel. Flowers almost regular, 15-22 mm in diameter. Pedicel up to 10 mm long, densely strigose with glandular hairs interspersed. Hypanthium 25-50 mm long. Sepals narrowly ovate with apices acute; abaxially strigose with sparse glandular hairs interspersed but glabrescent, adaxially glabrous; dull green with or without russet streaks and with margins hyaline, 7-8 x 2.0-2.5 mm. Petals 5, pale mustard-yellow to dusky pink with purple-black markings which are usually stronger developed on the anterior 3 petals, obovate-spathulate with apices rounded and bases attenuate, recurved to ca 90° with a tendency for the very apices to be incurved; posterior two 8-13 x 4-5 mm; anterior three 7-13 x 2.5-4.5 mm. Fertile stamens 6 (4 long, 2 short and equalling staminodes), pollen bright yellow. Ovary pear-shaped, 3.5 x 1.5-2.0 mm, densely covered in apically-directed hairs, pale green; style ca 1.5 mm long; stigma 5-branched, red; mericarp base 6 mm long, tail 35-40 mm long. Plants flower from October to December, with a peak in October and November, after which the exposed parts die back for the remainder of the summer.