A solid black dot indicates where the species is found. Serruria
hirsuta - Swartkops Spiderhead is a very attractive endemic to the Cape Peninsula.
With its stalkless flowers and pink heads it is allied to Serruria villosa but
clearly different. Its hairy leaves are distinctive when not in flower.
It is a rare species, only known from the mid north-east slopes of the Swartkopsberg
above Simonstown. Fortunately the historical belief that Se hirs was widespread in the
southern Peninsula appears to have died. This species is apparently threatened by the new
CPPNE boundary, which may effectively destroy half the known world population.
As this is another Peninsula endemic, we desperately need seasonal flowering and growth
data for this species. Only March has suffcient data for our needs. Could a local resident
please visit this species every month and record its flowering and growth?
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