Flora Detail

Common Name Hairy Hardleaf, Hardebos (Afr)
Family Rhamnaceae (Blinkblaars and Dogwoods)
Date Observed 12-02-2026
Category Shrubs
Catalogue No. 3586RGu
Flowering Time Summer
Colour White to Grey
Locations Observed
Estuary
Koppie
Nature Reserve Few
Small Holding
Village
Greater Rooiels

Phylica imberbis

Information

Hairy Hardleaf, Hardebos (Afr)

Phylica imberbis (Hairy Hardleaf/Hardebos) is a small, erect, South African fynbos shrublet, typically 30-60 cm tall, with woody stems and densely hairy branchlets. It is endemic to the Western Cape, featuring small, needle-like, leathery, or ericoid leaves with rolled-down margins. The plant produces fluffy white, or whitish-yellow flowers in rounded, stem-tip, or terminal heads from December to March. 
Key details about Phylica imberbis:
Appearance: A compact, rounded, woody, and hairy, or shrublet.
Leaves: Small, leathery, linear or lanceolate, with rolled-down (revolute) margins. The upper surface is dark green and often smooth or wrinkled, while the underside is densely white-woolly, particularly on new growth.
Flowers: The flowers are small, white with brown, yellowish-green tips, and arranged in terminal heads, or capitula, 7-10 mm in diameter, that are often covered with soft, white hairs.
Flowering Season: Late spring to after mid-autumn, specifically December to March.
Habitat: It is found on, or, in, sandstone-derived, or, acid, soils on fynbos-covered, or, sandy slopes.
Conservation Status: The plant is considered to be a species of "Least Concern" by the, Red List of South African Plants.
AI Overview

Click to find out more on Inaturalist