Gnidia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Thymelaeaceae. It is distributed in Africa, Madagascar, Arabia, India, and Sri Lanka; more than half of all the species are endemic to South Africa. Gnidia was named for Knidos, an Ancient Greek city located in modern-day Turkey. These are perennial herbs and shrubs, sometimes with rhizomes. Most species have alternately arranged leaves, and a few have opposite leaves. The leaves are undivided and unlobed. The inflorescence is a head of a few to many flowers. The calyx is cylindrical and the colored lobes may alternate with the petals; some species lack petals. Many species are similar in appearance and difficult to tell apart. Molecular analyses have provided evidence that the genus is polyphyletic, made up of four different lineages. They are related to the four genera Struthiola, Drapetes, Lasiosiphon and Pimelea. There are 140 to 160 species classified in the genus.

Gnidia polycephala commonly known as Besembossie, Terpentynbos, Janewariebos, Jannewariebos, Januariebos, Perdebossie or Waaibossie grows into a spreading, rounded shrub of up to 100 cm tall but is often shorter. It has a short woody stem on a strong taproot which forms the base for a great deal of branching. It has thin green stems that are mostly leafless. The narrowly elliptic leaves with pointed tips drop off early from the new growth that follows rain.