Pelargonium aridicola E.M.Marais

A deciduous geophyte with a regular subterranean tuber, 60-140 mm tall when in flower. Tuber, a turnip-shaped or elongated root, sometimes with more than one stem-growing point, covered with flaking dark brown periderms, 20-37 mm long and 15-30 mm in diameter. Leaves: radical, regularly pinnatisect, green, petiolate; lamina elliptic in outline, 50-80 mm long, pinnae 15-20 x 8-18 mm, irregularly pinnatilobed to pinnatisect, segments 3 mm wide, apices obtuse, margins entire, adaxially and abaxially densely hirsute with appressed stiff hairs; petiole 20-10 mm long, erecto-patent, densely hirsute with appressed hairs; stipules subulate, adnate to petioles with apices free, 5-10 x 1-1.5 mm, ciliate. Inflorescence: scape 15-50 mm long, pale green, densely covered with long glandular hairs and appressed curly hairs, branched, bearing 2-4(-9) pseudo-umbellets with 3-8 flowers each; peduncles 15-65 mm long, indumentum as on scape, green; bracts lanceolate, 2-2.5 mm long, abaxially densely hirsute with distally appressed hairs; flower buds, flowers and fruits erect. Pedicel ±0.5 mm long. Hypanthium 20-34 mm long, 3-6 times the length of the sepals, green to greenish brown, indumentum as on peduncle. Sepals 5, lanceolate, apices acute, 5-9 x 1.5-3.5 mm, posterior one erect, others patent, abaxially densely covered with long glandular hairs and appressed curly and appressed stiff hairs, green to reddish green, margins white. Petals 5, yellow, claws forming a sheath, apices patent during anthesis; posterior two with wine-red featherlike markings, spathulate, 13-23 x 3-6 mm, length/width ratio 3.2-5, claws 5-10 x 2-3 mm, apices rounded, truncate or emarginate; anterior three spathulate, 12-20 x 2.5-5 mm, bases attenuate, apices rounded. Stamens 10, basally connate, staminal column 1-1.5 mm long, smooth, white; perfect stamens 5, posterior one 1.5-2.5 mm long, lateral two 3.5-4.5 mm long, anterior two 5-7 mm long, slightly shorter than the sepals, curved upwards during anthesis, white; staminodes 1-3 mm long; anthers pink, 1.5-2 mm long, pollen orange. Gynoecium: ovary superior, oblong-conical, 5-lobed, 3-4.5 mm long, densely sericeous; style filiform, 0.5-1 mm long, white; stigma with 5 recurved branches, 1-2 mm long, adaxially pink. Fruit: a schizocarp consisting of 5 mericarps, bases of mericarps 4-5 mm long, with glandular hairs, tails 21-26 mm long. P. aridicola flowers from October to November and in nature the flowers appear after the leaves have died.