Heliophila juncea

Heliophila juncea is commonly known as wild stock, sometimes as stock sunspurge, in Afrikaans as ridderspoor (knight's spur), bergviool (mountain violin), bergriet (mountain restio or reed), or blouriet (blue restio or reed) and was previously scientifically known as Brachycarpaea juncea. The plant is variable in its growth forms, often producing erect stems to heights around 1 m. The woody rootstock resprouts after fire. In the more arid parts of its distribution as here at Kagga Kamma, where some of the H. juncea photos given in this Album were taken, the plants tend to be shorter.

Leaves were not much seen on the plants photographed in September. They are narrow to oblong, up to 5 cm long and 5 mm wide, although rarely achieving that.

The species distribution is widespread, mainly in the Western Cape. It also occurs in the south of Namaqualand in the Northern Cape and in the west of the Eastern Cape to Kareedouw.

The habitat is renosterveld and dry fynbos in rocky and loamy, sandstone-derived soils. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2010; Manning, 2007; iNaturalist; iSpot; http://redlist.sanbi.org).