About Stachys sublobata Skan
Stachys sublobata Skan is a low-growing perennial herb that produces several stems. These stems grow along the ground or rise only slightly, reaching a maximum length of 0.3 m (1 ft 0 in). Stems are sparsely hairy, with occasional longer spreading hairs. The leaves of this species help distinguish it from other species in the south-west Cape. Leaves are small, borne on short stalks. The leaf blades are fairly thick, narrowly triangular, and often folded along the midrib, measuring 10–15 mm (0.39–0.59 in) long. Leaves have a heart-shaped base, an acute tip, and deeply scalloped margins, with four or five rounded, lobe-like teeth on each side. Leaf surfaces are sparsely hairy, and sometimes bear small gland dots on their lower surface. Flowers are arranged in a loose inflorescence made up of a few whorls, each whorl holding two flowers, occasionally up to six. The calyx is thinly hairy and glandular. The corolla is mauve, with a short tube and two lips; the lower lip is longer and curved downward. Stachys sublobata flowers from September to March. Stachys sublobata grows in fynbos on sandstone slopes at elevations of 300–900 m (980–2,950 ft). Its range extends from Robertson and Caledon to Mossel Bay, and inland to Ladismith and Oudtshoorn.
