suffruticose, slender, diffusely branched; branches pubescent and hispid; leaves on long petioles, canescent and silky on both sides, ovate-oblong, cordate at base, more or less 3-lobed and crenulate, the basal lobes short, rounded, the middle lobe ovate, cuneate at base, sometimes lobulate; stipules ovate, acuminate; peduncles 2–3-flowered, with downy bracts; calyx-tube setulous, shorter than the lanceolate, acuminate ribbed and setulous sepals; upper petals not twice as long as the calyx. Stems weak, erect or decumbent, the upper branches with very long internodes, angular. Petioles much longer than the lamina, which is variously cut, sometimes nearly simple, sometimes 3-lobed, sometimes 3-parted and with the middle lobe deeply cut; always crenate and densely clothed with soft, shining, appressed, silky hairs. Upper petals much larger than the lower, with dark streaks. The foliage is quite unlike that of any other Cape species of this section, and most resembles that of P. canariense.
