Polygala pinifolia, in Afrikaans the skoenlapperbos (butterfly bush), grows in the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape, endemic to South Africa. It is not threatened early in the twenty first century. The plant is still regarded by some as a variation of P. myrtifolia, but the direction of Vlok and Schutte-Vlok is followed here.

This specimen was photographed in September in the Anysberg north of Barrydale, south of Laingsburg. The short dense racemes of brightly coloured flowers, crested with white brushes, allow some straight and narrow, hairy leaves to show among the flowers. Note the variably coloured veins on the petals and the tiny notches at petal tips.

P. pinifolia grows from seed only, not resprouting after fires. The shrubs are not much browsed by game and livestock (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2010; www.redlist.sanbi.org).