Osteospermum junceum

Osteospermum junceum is a multistemmed, herbaceous shrub that resprouts after fire, commonly reaching heights around 1 m, sometimes up to 3 m. The upper, flower-bearing stems are willowy, elongating with few or no leaves.

The flowers are borne in loose, few-flowered, stem-tip clusters, the peduncles woolly. The yellow daisy flowers consist of both ray florets and disc florets, the flowerheads about 3 cm in diameter. Flowering happens from before midwinter to summer.

The fruits are either smooth or slightly lobed but furrowed at the base. Fruit length is about 6 mm. Seed dispersal is performed by ants.

The species distribution is in the Western Cape from Tulbagh and Stellenbosch eastwards to the Eastern Cape as far as Makhanda. The photo was taken on the Gamka Mountain in the south of the Little Karoo.

The habitat is rocky and sandy fynbos and scrub slopes. The species is not considered threatened in habitat early in the twenty first century (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Manning, 2007; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).