Osteospermum scariosum drooping heads

Before and after opening or anthesis Osteospermum scariosum flowerheads nod in demure fashion, a position botanically known as cernuous.

The oblong to elliptic involucral bracts are on show during these stages, facing up on their by now gracefully curved, sparsely hairy peduncles. The bracts are rough-surfaced on the outside, covered in tiny, knob-like protrusions. The specific name, scariosum, is a Latin word meaning thin, dry and membranous in texture, referring to the bracts.

The papery fruits to follow  are smooth on their sides. Each fruit has three conspicuous, purple-rimmed wings, useful in wind dispersal of its solitary seed (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Manning, 2007; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist; JSTOR).