Lesser bush sweet pea  (Podalyria sericea)

Classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the Interim Red Data List of South African Plant Taxa (3).

This small, evergreen shrub, found only in South Africa, has handsome, silky foliage, with silver-grey, glossy hairs bestowing the green leaves a silvery sheen (1) (2). When in flower, small, pink blooms, (only one centimetre across) (4), are borne at the point where a leaf attaches to the stem (1). The flowers, in delicate shades of pink and white (2), have a structure characteristic of the pea family (Fabaceae) to which this species belongs; each flower consists of a large back petal, two smaller side petals and two fused, lower petals which enclose the stamens and pistil (1).

Endemic to the Cape Floristic Region, a ‘hot-spot’ of plant diversity in south-western South Africa. The lesser bush sweet pea is distributed from Saldanha, southwards to the Cape Peninsula (2)

The lesser bush sweet pea grows on sandstone and granite outcrops, below an elevation of 500 metres, and near the coast (2) (4).

The lesser bush sweet pea flowers in the winter months of May and June (2), when the plant is pollinated by insects, such as carpenter bees (Xylocopa species), as they visit the small flowers. From about October until January, the plant bears swollen seed pods, which, when split, release several small seeds (1).

The lesser bush sweet pea is believed to face threats from alien plant infestations, grazing and too frequent fires (1); events that impact the delicate balance of the natural habitat. Stands of invasive alien trees and shrubs are currently, (as of 2003), believed to cover around 2.6 percent of the Cape Floristic Region. This is predicted to increase to up to 32 percent within the next 20 years (5), which is likely to have a significant impact on many Cape Floristic Region endemic plants, including the lesser bush sweet pea.

Within the Cape Floristic Region there are a number of protected areas (6), and a number of conservation organisations are working to conserve the botanically rich habitat of the Cape Floristic Region (7) (8). Conservation actions include purchasing land to protect it from the threats of encroaching agriculture and urban development (8), the removal of alien plants, and the establishment of new protected areas (7), measures which should hopefully prevent this handsome silvery shrub becoming threatened with extinction.

For further information on the Cape Floristic Region and its conservation see:

• Conservation International: Biodiversity Hotspots:
  www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/hotspots/cape_floristic