Africa Wild

Index to Flowers in the Order Asterales

Family: Asteraceae
Arctotheca calendula Cape Weed, Cape Dandelion, Cape Marigold viewtopic.php?f=248&t=3746&p=170732#p170732
Arctotheca populifolia Beach Pumpkin, Sea Pumpkin viewtopic.php?f=248&t=342&p=178119#p178119
Arctotis fastuosa Namaqualand Arctotis viewtopic.php?f=248&t=3746&p=170733#p170733
Berkheya armata Giant Capethistle viewtopic.php?p=243113#p243113
Berkheya radula Sun Daisy viewtopic.php?f=248&t=3746&p=170734#p170734
Berkheya setifera Bristle African Thistle, Buffalo-tongue Thistle viewtopic.php?p=533127#p533127
Berkheya speciosa ovata Berkheya sp viewtopic.php?f=248&t=342&p=177741#p177741
Carduus nutans Nodding Thistle viewtopic.php?p=260990#p260990
Cirsium vulgare Scotch Thistle, Spear Thistle viewtopic.php?f=248&t=3746&p=170735#p170735
Cotula leptalea Namaqua Buttons viewtopic.php?f=248&p=170736#p170736
Cotula microglossa Knoppies viewtopic.php?f=248&t=3746&p=170737#p170737
Cotula turbinata Funnel Weed, Brass Button viewtopic.php?f=248&t=3746&p=170738#p170738
Didelta carnosa carnosa viewtopic.php?f=248&t=342&p=178033#p178033
Didelta carnosa tomentosa viewtopic.php?p=236750#p236750
Didelta spinosa Thorny Salad Bush viewtopic.php?p=195805#p195805
Dimorphotheca fruticosa, Osteospermum fruticosum African Daisy, Cape Daisy viewtopic.php?f=248&p=170739#p170739
Dimorphotheca pluvialis Ox-eye Daisy, Rain Daisy, Cape Daisy viewtopic.php?f=248&t=3746&p=170740#p170740
Eriocephalus africanus Cape Snow Bush, Wild Rosemary viewtopic.php?p=240381#p240381
Eriocephalus ericoides Cotton Bush, Kapok Bush, Wild Rosemary viewtopic.php?p=195593#p195593
Felicia australis Blue Karoo Daisy viewtopic.php?f=248&p=170741#p170741
Felicia filifolia Fine Felicia viewtopic.php?p=528756#p528756
Felicia heterophylla True-blue Daisy viewtopic.php?p=242082#p242082
Gazania krebsiana Terracotta Gazania viewtopic.php?f=248&t=3746&p=170742#p170742
Gazania leiopoda Dog Butterflower viewtopic.php?f=248&p=170743#p170743
Gazania lichtensteinii Yellow Gazania viewtopic.php?f=248&t=3746&p=170744#p170744
Geigeria burkei burkei Knoppiesvermeerbos viewtopic.php?p=527303#p527303
Geigeria ornativa Common Geigeria viewtopic.php?p=204637#p204637
Gerbera jamesonii Barberton Daisy viewtopic.php?f=248&p=170745#p170745
Helichrysum appendiculatum Sheep's Ears, Everlastings viewtopic.php?f=248&t=3746&p=170746#p170746
Helichrysum argyrosphaerum Wild Everlasting viewtopic.php?f=248&t=342&p=178359#p178359
Helichrysum eklonis Ecklon's Everlasting, Giant Pink Everlasting viewtopic.php?f=248&t=3746&p=170747#p170747
Helichrysum patulum Bedding Strawflower viewtopic.php?p=313841#p313841
Helichrysum teretifolium Heath-leaf Strawflower, Dune Scrub Everlasting viewtopic.php?p=242932#p242932
Hirpicium alienatum Haarbossie viewtopic.php?p=195580#p195580
Hymenolepis crithmoides False Karoo, Feathery Coulterbush viewtopic.php?f=248&t=3746&start=10#p172017
Oncosiphon piluliferum, Pentzia pilulifera Globe Chamomile, Stunkruid viewtopic.php?p=195652#p195652
Pentzia globosa Bitter Karoo Bush, Grey Karoo, Hair Karroo viewtopic.php?f=248&t=3746&p=170748#p170748
Phaenocoma prolifera Cape Strawflower, Cape Everlasting viewtopic.php?p=242076#p242076
Phymaspermum bolusii viewtopic.php?p=255440#p255440
Pteronia divaricata viewtopic.php?p=240434#p240434
Pteronia incana Blue Bush, Wild Lavender viewtopic.php?p=224292#p224292
Senecio arenarius Lesser Purple Ragwort, Hongerblom viewtopic.php?p=236249#p236249
Senecio halimifolius Seep Ragwort viewtopic.php?p=313848#p313848
Senecio rigidus Rough Ragwort viewtopic.php?p=313852#p313852
Syncarpha paniculata Bride Everlasting viewtopic.php?f=248&p=170749#p170749
Taraxacum officinale Common Dandelion viewtopic.php?f=248&p=170750#p170750
Ursinia cakilefolia Glossy-eyed Parachute Daisy viewtopic.php?f=248&t=3746&p=170751#p170751
Zinnia peruviana Kaffir Daisy, Redstar Zinnia, Wild Zinnia viewtopic.php?f=248&t=3746&p=170752#p170752

Family: Campanulaceae (Bellflowers)
Wahlenbergia androsacea Hare-Bell, Lesser Bellflower viewtopic.php?p=195812#p195812

Cape Weed, Cape Dandelion, Cape Marigold Arctotheca calendula (Soetgousblom, Tonteldoek)
Order: Asterales. Family: Asteraceae

© Toko

© Toko
West Coast National Park

Description
Tufted to sprawling, roughly hairy annual to 20 cm. Leaves mostly in a basal tuft, paddle-shaped to deeply lobed or even doubly lobed, roughly hairy above and white-woolly beneath. Hairy flower stalks, and flowers with black centres and paler or darker yellow at the base of petals.

Distribution
Namaqualand and Karoo to Cape Peninsula and Humansdorp.

Habitat
Coastal areas or disturbed soil.

© arks

© arks
Cape Peninsula, along the Kommetjie seaside boardwalk

Namaqualand Arctotis Arctotis fastuosa
Order: Asterales. Family: Asteraceae




Goegap Nature Reserve, Northern Cape

Description
A fast-growing annual, up to 60 cm high. The woolly, lobed leaves are up to 1.5 cm long and covered with white hairs. The large flower heads have a double row of brilliant orange ray florets. The inner row of ray florets has dark blotches at their base which form a thick dark ring around the flat centre. The centre of the flower head is shining black when the inner disc florets are closed and yellow when they open. It germinates after good winter rains and colours large fields when it flowers (July-October).

Distribution
Namaqualand (but also found north into Namibia and further south to the Biedouw Valley and into the Tankwa Karoo along the Doorn River Valley)

Habitat
Sandy and gravel slopes of the Succulent Karoo.

Sun Daisy Berkheya radula (Boesmanrietjie)
Order Asterales. Family: Asteraceae

© Amoli

© Amoli
Marievale Bird Sanctuary, Gauteng

Description
Robust, prickly perennial herb, up to 1 m. Stems annual, simple or branched in the upper part, covered in irregular spiny wings and glandular hairs. Leaves mainly in a basal rosette, linear-elliptic, green and rough above, covered in white felt below. The margins are coarsely serrulate-dentate with spines on the apices of the teeth and smaller spines in between. Capitula terminal, solitary on the stems and branches, ray-florets yellow; disk-florets darker orange-yellow. Involucral bracts spiny.

Distribution
Provincial distribution in South Africa: Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West.

Habitat
In Acacia woodland and wooded grassland, on flood-plains, river banks and vleis, often on alluvial black soil. Also in disturbed areas.

Scotch Thistle, Spear Thistle Cirsium vulgare (Speerdissel)
Order: Asterales. Family: Asteraceae

© Amoli

© Amoli

© Amoli
Marievale Bird Sanctuary, Gauteng

Description
It is a tall thistle, with a long tap-root. Spiny, herbaceous biennial which forms a large, flat rosette of leaves and a deep tap root in the first year and numerous branched stems up to 1,5 m high in the second year. Stems have spiny wings. Dark green leaves with stiff hairs above and white woolly beneath. Pink to mauve thistle-like flowers surrounded by spiny bracts appear from September to April.

Distribution
Not endemic to South Africa. Native of Europe and Asia.

Habitat
This plant invades grassland, roadsides, vlei and dam margins and river banks in cool, high rainfall areas

Links: ARKive

Namaqua Buttons Cotula leptalea
Order: Asterales. Family: Asteraceae



Description
Minute, thinly pilose, slender, suberect; leaves scarcely half-clasping at base.

Distribution
South African endemic. Provincial distribution: KwaZulu-Natal, Northern Cape, Western Cape.

Knoppies Cotula microglossa (Grootknoppiesopslag)
Order: Asterales. Family: Asteraceae




Western Cape, Cederberg

Description
Annual up to 30 cm high. Finely divided silky leaves. Long wiry peduncles with fine silky downward pointing hairs. Flower bracts silky.

Distribution
South African endemic. Provincial distribution: Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, Northern Cape, North West, Western Cape.

Links: William Henry Harvey, Otto Wilhelm Sonder, Sir Arthur William Hill: Flora Capensis

Funnel Weed, Brass Button Cotula turbinata (Ganskos)
Order: Asterales. Family: Asteraceae

Yellow-rayed form
Western Cape, Cederberg

Description
Annual herb growing up to 30 cm high, with finely divided leaves, with white or yellow rays and a yellow disc.

Distribution
South African endemic. Provincial distribution: Western Cape and Eastern Cape.

Habitat
In sandy soil. Often along roadsides and disturbed places.

Links: William Henry Harvey, Otto Wilhelm Sonder, Sir Arthur William Hill: Flora Capensis

African daisy, Cape daisy Dimorphotheca fruticosa, Osteospermum fruticosum (Rankbietou)
Order: Asterales. Family: Asteraceae. Subfamily: Asteroideae. Tribe: Calenduleae



Description
The daisy-like composite flower consists of disc florets and ray florets, growing singly at the end of branches or sometimes in inflorescences of terminal corymbose cymes. The disc florets are pseudo-bisexual and come in several colors such as blue, yellow and purple. The hardy types usually show a dark blue center in the disc until the yellow pollen is shed. The ray florets are female and are found diverse colors such as white, cream, pink, purple, mauve to yellow. Some cultivars have "spooned" petals such as "Pink Whirls". Many species flower a second time late summer, stimulated by the cooler night temperatures. Hardy types show profuse flowering in the spring, but they do not get a second flush of flowers.

Distribution
South African endemic. Provincial distribution: Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape.

Habitat
Fynbos or strandveld. Sand and coastal sites. Sandy sea shores.

Ox-eye Daisy, Rain Daisy, Cape Daisy Dimorphotheca pluvialis (Witbotterblom)
Order Asterales. Family: Asteraceae




West Coast National Park


Richtersveld National Park

Description
Dimorphotheca pluvialis is a herbaceous annual. Dimorphotheca pluvialis "Flat White" has pure white flowers, with its petals backed with mauve, and a yellow centre. The plant grows about 15 cm high.
Dimorphotheca pluvialis "Purple Centre" also has white flowers but with a deep violet ring around the yellow centre. It grows to about 40 cm in height.
Dimorphotheca pluvialis forms a bushy plant that is covered with large white daisies all flowering at the same level. The flowering season is from July to October, depending on the rain. The narrow leaves are light green, about 7 cm long and have indented edges. They are numerous at the base of the stems, becoming fewer and smaller near the top.
During spring huge fields are covered with this bright white daisy, forming a dazzling mass. Flowers are pollinated by small horseflies that get covered with pollen as they fly from one daisy to the next in search of tiny amounts of nectar.
These annuals are adapted to germinate, grow, flower and set seed during the rainy winter and to survive the long dry summer as seed. The seeds are interesting in that two different forms are produced. The ones we usually sow are flat, papery and fly away easily in the wind. They are formed in the center of the flower by the disk florets. The outer ray florets form seeds which looks like little thorns with a thick coats. Under favorable conditions the papery seed of the disk florets germinate in abundance, while the seeds of the ray florets have delayed germination to protect the species against unpredictable conditions in their arid environment.

Distribution
Dimorphotheca pluvialis is an annual endemic to Namibia, Namaqualand and the south western Cape.

Habitat
Sandy soils on lowland. Renosterveld, strandveld, fynbos.

Links: Braam Van Wyk: A Photographic Guide to Wild Flowers of South Africa