Euryops tagetoides dry surroundings

Multicoloured pebbles on the sand add allure to the setting of these small Euryops tagetoides plants. The species is slow-growing in the sandy soils of its semi-arid, low winter rainfall environment.

The grey foliage near stem-tips reflect heat, the dark lower parts comprising dry, persistent material may do the opposite apart from casting shade. Further down, the stems become bare on older and bigger plants, leaf scars showing on the stems. The spaced branches allow for air to pass through, providing just that slightest bit of coolness on hot days. On some days merely the idea of it (Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist; http://www.worldfloraonline.org).