Cotula microglossa

Cotula microglossa, in Afrikaans grootknoppiesopslag (big little button volunteer growth!) or gansogies (little goose eyes), is an annual sprawling herb that commonly grows to 25 cm. Its soft leaves are finely bipinnate, 3 cm long and 1 cm wide.

The plant is distributed widely in the south and west South Africa, not in the northeast, reaching North West, Gauteng and the Free State. It grows in loamy lowlands. This abundant and thriving stand was seen in a soft soil valley in the Rooiberg, east of Van Wyksdorp, standing taller than 50 cm. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century.

This plant resembles Oncosiphon piluliferum that is also widespread, especially in disturbed patches from Namibia to the Eastern Cape (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2010; iSpot; http://redlist.sanbi.org).