Osteospermum sinuatum var. sinuatum stem

The almost straight Osteospermum sinuatum var. sinuatum stem zigzags slightly between nodes; the thinner side-branch even more. The cylindrical lower part of the stem in picture is pale brown, the younger upper part ridged towards squarish in shape, increasingly green towards its tip. These stems are brittle.

The more or less stalkless leaves have creamy basal bulges where petioles would be found. The leaves spiral and ascend up the stems, the intervals between them bigger in the younger stem part, maybe a response to recent rain (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Le Roux, et al, 2005; Manning and Goldblatt, 1997).