It is a most exhilarating experience seeing Passerina ericoides
growing on cliff faces at Cape Point and overlooking the vast Atlantic
Ocean, with branchlets trembling in the salt spray. It is clear
that this plant is adapted to maritime conditions, also sitting
comfortably amongst the coastal dunes from the Cape Peninsula to
De Mond in the Bredasdorp District. The plant is characterized by
greyish green leaves, greenish flowers and the fruits are fleshy
Passerina ericoides is a low, rounded, many-stemmed shrublet,
branching profusely on new growth. Young branchlets are lax and
older branchlets are often rugged. The plants are normally 0.3-1.2
m high. Stems are light greyish brown and the cork is fissured lengthwise.
Typically, the growing points are densely white-hairy. The leaves
are slightly succulent, with length ´ width 2.5-2.8 x 0.6-0.7
mm, the upper surface is concave, and the lower is convex. Each
spike contains 6-12 flowers and the bracts are normally larger than
the leaves. Flowers are ± 5 mm long, somewhat leathery and
greenish during pollination, later turning red. As these plants
are adapted to wind pollination, the anthers have large stamens
hanging outside the flower. The fleshy red berries of 5.3 x4.0 mm
are the main attraction of this species, often still enveloped by
persistent flower parts.
The conservation status of P. ericoides is considered as
Near Threatened (NT) according to the guidelines of the IUCN Species
Survival Commission in 2000.
Passerina ericoides occurs from Melkbosstrand along the
coast of the Cape Peninsula to De Mond in the Bredasdorp District.
It is endemic to the Southwestern and Agulhas Plain Centres within
the Cape Floristic Region. This species occurs on littoral sand
between rocks, or in dune valleys between the primary and secondary
Derivation of name and historical aspects
specific epithet ericoides refers to the ericoid appearance
of this species indicated by the phrase 'corollae tubus globosus,
inflatus-unde et Ericam refert flore', which was used by Linnaeus
(1767) in his original description of the species.
In the Catalogue of the Linnaean Herbarium, Savage (1945) made
the following inscription 'Tulb. list c. 1769. n.1. det. L.-Blaeria
ericoides'. This refers to consignments of bulbs, seeds and herbarium
specimens that Rijk Tulbagh sent to Van Royen, the Burmans at Amsterdam
and Linnaeus at Uppsala (Gunn & Codd 1981). Jackson (1917-1918)
published a list of 203 of the specimens sent to and identified
by Linnaeus around 1769. The first inscription on the list is the
provisional name Blaeria ericoides, which Savage (1945) believed
to be the P. ericoides specimen at the Linnaean Herbarium
in London (LINN), unfortunately there is no numbering or any other
indication on the specimen to link it with Tulbagh's list (Jackson
1917-1918). As Linnaeus had already described P. ericoides
in 1767, the specimen at LINN is probably not part of the Tulbagh
collection, but this specimen is currently regarded as the lectotype
of P. ericoides.
Wind pollination is the main distinguishing character of the
genus Passerina. The anthers are borne outside the flower
and large amounts of pollen are released explosively into the air.
Pollen grains are also rounded and light so that they can easily
be carried by the wind. The conspicuous, fleshy, red berries are
favoured and dispersed by birds, often walking from one plant to
the other on the beach.
Uses and cultural aspects
Marloth (1925) remarked that P. ericoides was laden with
bright, scarlet fruits and that it was often employed as a Christmas
decoration. The juicy pulp has a somewhat unpleasant taste, but
appears to be harmless (dronkbessie). As early as 1919, Sim recommended
P. ericoides as a useful shrub for planting in coastal areas
exposed to sea winds. This species occurs on coastal dunes and on
the banks of lagoons in the Cape Peninsula and adjacent coastal
areas of the Western Cape. The plants are excellent sand binders
as they have an extensive root system from which resprouting often
takes place. Because human impact and invasion of alien vegetation
along the coast of the Cape Peninsula are very high, rehabilitation
and conservation of coastal dunes is of vital importance. P.
ericoides plants are ideally suited to combat erosion of coastal
dunes and can be used as a substitute in coastal areas where alien
vegetation is cleared. In their research on the coastal erosion
of the Milnerton beaches, Biggs et al. (2001) made use of P.
ericoides, occurring on the mobile dunes of this area, as a
natural monitor to indicate coastal erosion.
Growing Passerina ericoides
The rule of thumb for the cultivation of any plant is to adhere
to the natural habitat of the plant as closely as possible. P.
ericoides is both a resprouter and a reseeder. It has an extensive
root system and may be propagated by adventitious roots or suckers.
As the fruits are berries, seeds may be available and would probably
germinate well in sandy soil. However, these are plants adapted
to maritime conditions (wind and salt spray) and they would obviously
grow best close to the coast.
Anthony Hitchcock ( pers.comm.) reports that these plants have
been grown from seed and cuttings at Kirstenbosch, with seed germinating
References and further reading
- Biggs, C., Knight, R., Raitt, L.M. & Keats, D. 2001. The
use of vegetation indicators for the assessment of coastal erosion
in Milnerton South Africa. 27th Annual Conference of the South
African Association of Botanists, RAU, Johannesburg. Unpublished.
- Gunn, M. & Codd, L.E. 1981. Botanical exploration of
southern Africa. Balkema, Cape Town.
- Jackson, B.D. 1917-1918. Linné-Tulbagh correspondence
in possession of the Linnean Society, being a fifth contribution
towards the history of the Linnean collections. Proceedings
of the Linnean Society 130, Suppl. 1-13: 5-13.
- Linnaeus, C. 1767. Systema naturae, edn 12,2. Laurentius
- Marloth, R. 1925. The flora of South Africa, vol. 2,2.
Darter Bros., Cape Town.
- Savage, S. 1945. A catalogue of the Linnaean Herbarium.
Linnean Society of London.
- Sim, T.R. 1919. Flowering trees and shrubs for use in South
Africa. The Speciality Press of South Africa, Johannesburg.
National Herbarium Pretoria