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Aspalathuses
Aspalathus
Aspalathus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The yellow flowers and spiny habit of some species have suggested a resemblance to Ulex europaeus, the thorny "English gorse" Accordingly, "Cape Gorse" has been proposed as a common name although the resemblance is largely superficial; for instance, gorse is thorny, whereas Aspalathus species are variously spiny or unarmed. The genus belongs to the subfamily Faboideae. There are over 270 species, mainly endemic to southwestern fynbos regions in South Africa, with over fifty occurring on the Cape Peninsula alone. The species Aspalathus linearis is commercially important, being farmed as the source of Rooibos tea.
Aspalathus species generally are shrubs or sometimes shrublets. They are normally bushy, however some species can grow sprawling or upright with branches that stand on their own. The flowers of most species are plentiful in season, a rich, showy yellow very common in the Western Cape mountains in particular. The flowers of some yellow-flowering species (such as Aspalathus cordata) turn bright red as they fade. Some species, such as Aspalathus forbesii have white or cream flowers, and others, such as Aspalathus costulata and Aspalathus cordata have flowers in various shades ranging from pink to pale violet, whereas Aspalathus nigra commonly has slate-blue flowers.
41 branches of this genus, most-observed first
Joined Capegorses
sectionAdnates
Branchlet Capegorses
sectionLaterales
Borbon Capegorses
sectionBorboniae
Plump Capegorses
sectionPingues
Delicate Capegorses
sectionLeptanthae
Silky Capegorses
sectionSericeae
Terminal Capegorses
sectionTerminales
Purple Capegorses
sectionPurpureae
Needlelobe Capegorses
sectionTeretilobae
Meaty Capegorses
sectionCarnosae
Heady Capegorses
sectionCephalanthae
Hell Capegorses
sectionAstroites
Fingerleaf Capegorses
sectionDigitifoliae
Gland Capegorses
sectionCallosae
Beaked Capegorses
sectionRostratae
Rooibos Capegorses
sectionLebeckiiformes
Stalked Capegorses
sectionPedunculares
Redening Capegorses
sectionRubescentes
Lime Capegorses
sectionCalcicolae
Spinetip Capegorses
sectionAciculifoliae
Spineleaf Capegorses
sectionAciphyllae
Shortseed Capegorses
sectionPachycarpae
Sulphur Capegorses
sectionSulphureae
Quartz Capegorse
speciesAspalathus quartzicola
Triple Capegorses
sectionTernatae
Needleseed Capegorses
sectionTereticarpae
Ecotone Capegorses
sectionMarginales
Thorn Capegorses
sectionSpinescentes
Thornveld Capegorses
sectionNiveae
Crew Capegorse
speciesAspalathus crewiana
Aspalathus outrampsii
speciesAspalathus outrampsii
Thinstem Capegorses
sectionFilicaules
Splendid Capegorses
sectionDecorae
Worm Capegorses
sectionVermiculatae
Foxy Capegorses
sectionCrotalariiformes
Miniflower Capegorses
sectionDiffusae
Aspalathus theresae
speciesAspalathus theresae
Aspalathus lotiflora
speciesAspalathus lotiflora
Giant Capegorses
sectionGigantes
Aspalathus chlorina
speciesAspalathus chlorina
Aspalathus vulpicaudata
speciesAspalathus vulpicaudata
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the old herbals & bestiaries
Jan Moninckx; Maria Moninckx — Moninckx Atlas, vol. 4 (1686)
Jan Moninckx; Maria Moninckx · 1686 · p.50
Rariorum Plantarum Historia (with Fungorum Historia)
Carolus Clusius · 1601 · p.124
Stirpium adversaria nova
Matthias de Lobel · 1571 · p.451
Herbarium Portatile, Oder Behendes Kräuter- und Gewächs-Buch: Darinn nicht allein 1363. so wol Einheimische als Außländndische Kräuter mit Lateinisch und Deutscher Benennung abgebildet, sondern auch die meisten, so in der Medicin gebräuchlich, kürtzlich erkläret werden
Panckow, Thomas · 1656 · p.338
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Aspalathus in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 139725.