M. leptoloba A.DC.
Prostrate shrublet. Leaves scattered to crowded, lower leaves longer than 8 mm. Flowers are white, the corolla tube as long as the corolla lobes. Flowering time is from November to March. This species is common on the Cape south-east coast, from Kogelberg to Bredasdorp, where it grows on sandy or rocky flats and hills.

M. azurea Schltr.
Stout prostrate shrublet. Leaves crowded, axillary clusters of smaller leaves occasionally present. Flowers purple, corolla tube wider than in the other two purple-flowered species. Flowering time: November to February. This species ranges from Sir Lowry's Pass to Bredasdorp and occurs on sandy or stony soil.

Marasmodes undulata (CR = Critically endangered) - An inconspicuous shrublet growing in the under storey of Renosterbos veld, Marasmodes undulata, was first discovered on 29 April 1946 in the Paarl Valley. After this initial find it was often looked for but never found again and thought to be extinct until rediscovered by Chris Burgers of Cape Nature Conservation in 1980. At this time it was estimated that the population found in Paarl was 500 individuals. Seed was collected and sent to Dr A.V. Hall at the Bolus Herbarium, based at the University of Cape Town. Dr Hall separated the collected seed, sending half to Assegaaibosch Nursery for sowing and the second part to the Provincial Blood Bank at the Cape Medical Centre for storage at -22° C. The Assegaaibosch seedlings were transferred to Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden in December of 1984. Chris Burgers revisited the site in Paarl in 1994 to discover that the majority of the site had been burnt in November of 1993, and he counted only 200 plants in the remaining area of 2 ha. The site then remained unmonitored until 2005 when members of the CREW Project visited it and only 15 plants were found. On 26 May 2005 the Millennium Seed Bank Project (MSBP) made a collection of seed and vegetative material of Marasmodes undulata, and found 6 more individual plants, bringing the total population to 21 plants left in the wild.

Marasmodes oligocephala (LC = Least concern) - This much-branched shrublet reaches a height of 400 mm. The ericoid leaves are linear and irregularly lobed. Flower heads occur in terminal clusters or can be solitary at the end of branches; they are yellow discs and stand out in the winter veld. Flowering is in the autumn to winter months (April to June) in the southern hemisphere. Threats to this plant include: urbanisation, agriculture, aliens and particularly a lack of critical plant identification during EIAs (Environmental Impact Assessments). For example, the population adjacent to Harmony Flats was bulldozed at the end of 2004 as a result of this.

Marasmodes fasciculata (EN = Endangered) - Flowering from end April to June, this species has up to 20 flowerheads clustered at the tips of the branches. It has the ericoid leaves typical of the genus, but the leaves are alternate.