Hermannia flammea or doll’s rose is a sparsely branched, dwarf shrub. It grows to about 60 cm in height. The common name of doll’s rose is shared with other members of the genus. There are also other common names for the plant: granny’s bonnets, which may refer to the pointy shape of the calyx and night smelling honey bells. The honey bells name is also ascribed to other species of Hermannia.

The species is found in coastal sandy soil of grassy slopes in the Western and Eastern Cape. This flower was photographed in September in the De Hoop Nature Reserve.

Some Hermannia species were used in the fight against smallpox long ago. Whether they made a difference is not clear today, but we don't have the disease anymore (Bond and Goldblatt, 1984).