Pelargonium hystrix Harv.

A dwarf, rather woody stem succulent, monopodial and branching above base or, in the northeast, suckering freely from below ground level, dormant and leafless during summer, rarely more than 150 mm high. Stems smooth with a hard, ebony-brown to grey-black bark, armed with persistent, hard, extremely sharp white stipules. Leaves green, bipinnately incised, thin, more or less covered with short, glandular hairs; lamina oblong-ovate, 15.4-0 x 15-25 mm, base cordately incised; segments 2-8 x 1-3 mm, more or less ovate or linear, apices acute, margins entire; petiole 10-30 mm long; stipules free, acutely triangular with laterally expanded base, 5-15 mm long, 2-5 mm broad at base, sparsely beset with short glandular hairs when young, persistent, somewhat reflexed, becoming extremely hard and rigid, white with a needle-sharp point. Inflorescence subterminal, branched, bearing 2-15-flowered pseudo-umbels with several stipules and stipular leaflets subtending each branch; peduncle usually 20-100 mm long, 2-3 mm thick, covered with glandular hairs. Pedicels 0.5-1.5 mm long. Hypanthium 10-50 mm long, cream. Sepals narrowly ovate, concave above, acute, covered with short glandular hairs, green with hyaline margins, 3-8 x 0.5-2.0 mm. Petals cream to pale yellow, posterior two oblong with bases and apices rounded, 12-17 x 2-3 mm, with strongly reflexed apices and feathery dark red markings, anterior three spathulate, 16-21 x 3-4 mm and slightly recurved, with linear wine-red markings close to base. Stamens 5, of which 4 fertile, ±10 mm long, dark wine-red; anthers short; pollen yellow. Ovary narrowly ovoid, villous; style 12-15 mm long, very dark wine-red.