Othonna perfoliata fruit beginnings

Seen in August near Nieuwoudtville, the involucres of these Othonna perfoliata fruitheads still hold the beginnings of the pappus bristles neatly together like painter’s brushes. The red-purple bristles are white-tipped.

The narrow bracts cohere neatly around the longish cylindrical base of each head. The smooth receptacle tapers into the slender, naked peduncle or stalk (Manning, 2007; iNaturalist).