Eriocephalus grandiflorus

Eriocephalus grandiflorus is a single-stemmed shrublet reaching 50 cm in height.

The short-stalked flowerheads comprise few-flowered central discs and ray florets around them. The discs are purple, the tiny floret tubes ending in five lobes each. Around each disc there are up to six short, broad, white rays. Disc florets are male, ray florets female. The involucre holding the head consists of one row of bracts. Blooming happens in winter.

The specific name, grandiflorus, is derived from the Latin words grandis meaning large and flos meaning flower. It refers to the flowerheads that are among the bigger ones of the genus, although only about 10 mm in diameter, equalled by the heads of some other species.

The species distribution is in the centre of the Western Cape, mainly the Little Karoo and the Roggeveld, extending slightly northwards into the south of the Northern Cape. The photo was taken near Vanwyksdorp.

The habitat is karoid scrub in Nama Karoo and succulent Karoo on quartzite outcrops. The species is deemed rare in its habitat early in the twenty first century, although the population is stable (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).