The Brunia family, Bruniaceae, consists of 12 genera and 77 species, endemic to South Africa and concentrated in the south-western Cape. The 12 genera include Audouinia, Berzelia, Brunia, Linconia, Lonchostoma, Mniothamnea, Nebelia, Pseudobaeckea, Raspalia, Staavia, Thamnea and Tittmannia. The genus Brunia is most likely named after a contemporary of Linnaeus, the apothecary, Dr Cornelis Brun, who travelled in Russia and the Levant, although it could also be in commemoration of Dr Alexander Brown, a ship’s surgeon and a collector who worked in the East Indies around 1690.

The striking red flowers of Brunia stokoei are a sight to behold. Brunia stokoei is an upright, resprouting shrub, which grows to a height of 2 m. It has a similar growth habit to Brunia albiflora but the needle-like leaves are smooth, stalkless, 8-10 mm long and have an evident midvein underneath. The red flowers are borne in flower heads of 15 mm across from summer to autumn. The genus Brunia was named after Dr Cornelius Brun, who was a chemist and plant collector and Carl Linnaeus’ contemporary. The species stokoei is named after a very important collector of fynbos plants, Thomas Pearson Stokoe who died at the age of 91. Due to its striking red flowers, Brunia stokoei is used in the cut-flower industry, but not as much as B. albiflora.