Africa Wild

Heath-leaf Strawflower, Dune Scrub Everlasting Helichrysum teretifolium
Order: Asterales. Family: Asteraceae

© nan
Bontebok National Park

Description
Straggling, thinly felted perennial shrublet to 30 cm with stiffly spreading, needle-like leaves, hooked at the tips, more or less hairless above but white-woolly beneath, with the margins rolled under; bears dense clusters of bell-shaped, disciform or discoid flowerheads 5x5 mm, with creamy white bracts that are spreading at the tips. Flowers between July and November.

Distribution
South African endemic, very widespread from the southwestern Cape to KwaZulu-Natal. It ranges from Piquetberg and the Great Winterhoek Mountains through the SW. and southern Cape to the Eastern Cape as far inland as Grahamstown and Dohne, thence along the coast to KwaZulu-Natal, where it reaches the northern limit of its distribution at Durban Bluff.



Habitat
Sandy slopes and dunes in Albany Thicket, Fynbos, Grassland, Indian Ocean Coastal Belt. It grows in shrub communities, often on sand, on stabilized dunes near the sea or on mountain slopes, often in dense stands.

Giant Capethistle Berkheya armata (Vlaktedissel, Vlaktedoring)
Order: Asterales. Family: Asteraceae

© nan
Bontebok National Park

Description
Tufted perennial to 40 cm, sprouting from a woody rootstock, with a basal rosette of lance-shaped leaves. Upper leaves clasping the stem ovate. All leaves are hairless above and white-felted beneath, the margins prickly-toothed and slightly rolled underhave spiny margins. Three or more veins from the base of each leaf. It bears one to few radiate, yellow flowerheads on leafy peduncles; all of the involucral bracts are finely prickly along the margins.

Distribution
South African endemic: Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Western Cape.

Habitat
Clay and granite slopes and flats.

Links: Field Guide to Fynbos. John C. Manning

Phymaspermum Phymaspermum bolusii
Order: Asterales. Family: Asteraceae

© Toko

© Toko

© Toko
Marakele National Park

Description
Perennial shrub, up to 2 m tall, with erect branches. Leaves up to 50 mm long, sessile, mostly entire, linear, sometimes pinnate in upper half. Heads 5 mm in diameter, in terminal umbels, inner involucral bracts glabrous. Flowers yellow, from March to December.
Similar species: Phymaspermum bolusii and Phymaspermum athanasioides are scarcely separable, but P. bolusii has smaller and more numerous flower-heads than P. athanasioides.

Distribution
Zimbabwe, South Africa (Free State, Limpopo, Mpumalanga), Swaziland.

Habitat
Mountain grassland, rocky localities.

Nodding Thistle Carduus nutans
Order: Asterales. Family: Asteraceae

© nan
Addo Elephant National Park

Description
Mature plants range in height from 1–1.5 m tall and have multi-branched stems. This thistle has sharply spiny stems and leaves. The stem is cottony/hairy. The plants develop a rosette, with large leaves 30–60 cm long. The leaves are dark green, coarsely bipinnately lobed, with a smooth, waxy surface and sharp yellow-brown to whitish spines at the tips of the lobes.They are more or less hairy on top, and wooly on the veins below. The plant bears showy red-purple flowers. The large globose flower heads, containing hundreds of tiny individual flowers, are 3–5 cm diameter and occur at the tips of stems. The flower heads commonly droop to a 90° to 120° angle from the stem when mature, hence the name of "Nodding thistle". Each plant may produce thousands of straw-colored seeds adorned with plume-like bristles. They are 4 to 6 cm across, with purple-red bracts.

Distribution
Native to Europe and Asia. Invasive plant in the Eastern Cape, NEMBA Category 1b. It is now widespread in areas like Grahamstown, Cradock, Kenton-on-Sea, Paterson and Addo.

Habitat
The nodding thistle grows from sea level to an elevation of about 2 500 m. It is found in neutral to acidic soils. It typically grows in meadows and grasslands, heavily grazed areas such as pastures and in disturbed soil such as roadsides and building sites. It spreads rapidly in areas subjected to frequent natural disturbances such as landslides and flooding, but does not grow well in excessively wet, dry or shady conditions.

Bedding Strawflower Helichrysum patulum
Order: Asterales. Family: Asteraceae

© arks

© arks
Cape Point

Description
Sprawling semi-woody, much-branched perennial subshrub 300-700 mm in height; leaves alternate, entire, 6-20 × 2-12 mm, panduriform, with obtuse apex and crispedundulate margin, abruptly contracted about the middle, covered in dense grey-white woolly hairs, more numerous on the underside; flowers (Oct – Feb) pale yellow, white or light pink, in homogamous heads of 14-30 individuals, 4-5 mm in diameter, arranged in dense corymbose clusters; involucral bracts concave obtuse.

Distribution
Western Cape Province, from the Cape Peninsula and Paarl to Bredasdorp and Mossel Bay.

Habitat
Coastal dune bush and south-facing lower mountain slopes.

Seep Ragwort Senecio halimifolius (Tabakboom, Tabakbos)
Order: Asterales. Family: Asteraceae

© arks
Along the Kommetjie boardwalk (which is part of TMNP) in late November 2015.

Description
Thinly white-cobwebby, glaucous erect shrub to 1.5 m. Leaves leathery, oblanceolate to obovate, narrow below, coarsely toothed above. Flower heads radiate, in dense terminal corymbs, yellow, involucres calycled. Nov. to Jan.

Distribution
South African endemic to the Eastern Cape and Western Cape (Lambert's Bay to Hermanus).

Habitat
Coastal sands.

Rough Ragwort Senecio rigidus
Order: Asterales. Family: Asteraceae

© arks
Along Ou Kaapse Weg, near the entrance to the Silvermine area of TMNP

Description
Robust shrub with roughly hairy stems and leaves. It grows branched stems with rough, hairy and longitudinally lined surfaces, reaching heights around 1.5 m.
The small flowerheads are borne in large branched clusters called corymbs, flattish or shallowly rounded in shape. Flowerheads comprise both disc and ray florets, all yellow. The rays, only five or six in number on each flowerhead, are short, elliptic in shape with longitudinal undulations. The small yellow disc protrudes above the ring of ray florets. The individual flowerhead stalks or pedicels have surface scales; so do the involucres.
Distribution
South African endemic to the Eastern Cape and Western Cape, mainly along the coastal strip, inland in the west to Clanwilliam.

Habitat
Sandstone slopes, flats and gullies.

Knoppiesvermeerbos Geigeria burkei burkei
Order: Asterales. Family: Asteraceae

Kruger National Park © mposthumus

Description
Erect perennial herb, up to 40 cm tall. Stems simple below, branching above, reddish, covered with finely downy hairs.
Leaves alternate, hairy, linear-oblanceolate, up to 7 × 0.3cm; margins entire or slightly toothed, often rolled under.
Flowers stalkless, solitary at each fork of stem , up to 1.5 cm in diameter, ray and disc florets yellow, outer bracts with short leaf-like appendage.
Flowering time: Dec - Jun

Distribution
Botswana, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, eSwatini and South Africa (Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West)

Habitat
In grassland or open deciduous woodland, mostly in sandy soils.

Fine Felicia Felicia filifolia
Order Asterales. Family Asteraceae

Garden Route National Park, Ebb & Flow camp © All-Nature

Description
Much-branched shrub up to 1m. Leaves hairless, needle-like, up to 15 × 2mm. In spring (October to December), it bears masses of daisy-like flowers. Flowerheads ±20 mm in diameter, with yellow disc florets and mauve, blue or pink ray florets. The seedheads are fluffy and creamy white in colour.

Habitat
Felicia filifolia occurs in both summer and winter rainfall areas. Grows on flats and rocky slopes.

Distribution
Namibia, South Africa (Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North West, Western Cape).

Links:
http://pza.sanbi.org/felicia-filifolia-subsp-filifolia

Bristle African Thistle, Buffalo-tongue Thistle Berkheya setifera
Order Asterales. Family Asteraceae

Nelspruit hillside December © Richprins


Description
Robust, perennial herb, up to 1.2 m tall; with a milky sap. Stems annual, branched in the upper part, thinly covered in cobweb-like hairs.
Leaves mainly basal, with some smaller leaves along the stem, oblanceolate to obovate, up to 45 cm long, upper surface and margins densely set with straw-coloured spiny bristles, 2-7 mm long, longest at the apices of the marginal teeth; lower surface hairy like the stems; lamina base clasping the stems.
Capitula terminal 3-6 cm in diameter, solitary on the stems and branches or rarely several more or less clustered, bright yellow; ray-florets 12-20 mm long; disk-florets numerous. Flowering in spring to late summer (September to February).

Distribution
Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, eSwatini and South Africa.
Provincial distribution in South Africa: Mpumalanga, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape

Habitat
Submontane grassland, bracken scrub and along road sides.

Links:
http://pza.sanbi.org/berkheya-setifera