Arctotis leiocarpa flowerhead from below

The flowerhead of Arctotis leiocarpa grows solitary on a tall and sturdy, green stalk that is hollow inside and covered in silvery, downy hairs. When all goes well, the plant may present its flowers taller than 20 cm from the ground.

At the base of the flowerhead the rows of narrow green bracts pointing downwards among their ample covering of cobwebby, shiny hairs are on display here. The upper bracts, just below the ray florets, can be seen to have broadly rounded papery tips, brownish in the centre and translucent, almost transparent towards the margins. The narrowly elliptic ray florets, highlight feature of these daisies, are white above and covered in pale purple, longitudinal lines on their lower surfaces. The disc flowers are usually yellow and fertile. The fruit is egg-shaped with two elongated cavities (Manning, 2009).