Ursinia paleacea

Ursinia paleacea, in Afrikaans commonly the geelmargriet (yellow Marguerite) and previously U. crithmoides, is a somewhat herbaceous, single-stemmed shrub growing erectly to heights from 25 cm to 90 cm.

The finely divided leaves, dense and feathery on upper stems, have long, thread-like segments. The flat petioles persist on lower stems when leaves fall, the plant nearly hairless.

The solitary flowerheads grow at stem-tips on almost leafless peduncles, pendulous in bud. The single row of yellow, sometimes slightly brownish, ray florets spread around a yellow disc, the head from 2 cm to 5 cm in diameter.

Up to seven rows of brown-rimmed, involucral bracts form a rounded cup at the base of the head. The lower surfaces of the rays may be dark in pink-brown to reddish, particularly near the tips, while the inner row of bracts have tips with large, papery extensions.

Flowering happens from before midspring to summer.

The species distribution is mainly a coastal strip in the south of the Western Cape but northwards as far as Tulbagh and eastwards to the southwest of the Eastern Cape, as far as Humansdorp. The photo was taken on Table Mountain in March.

The habitat is sandstone slopes, often in seasonally damp places where the plants flower mainly after fire. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century (Manning, 2007; Bean and Johns, 2005; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; http://redlist.sanbi.org).