Berkheya cuneata ebullience

This floriferous Berkheya cuneata plant illustrates the potential of its species in horticultural terms. Seasonal abundance is a floral feature of note in numerous plant species.

The ray florets in picture don’t deliver fruits, but their big banner ads do attract pollinating insects, as does the pleasant scent of the flowers.

The deeply five-lobed disc florets are where the reproductive action is. The florets exsert both anthers and stigmas for waylaying visitors to perform the age-old services, adapted in so many ways to keep so many plant and pollinator species alive.

The whitish leaves are positioned well for flower contrast in the rocky terrain setting. It is, however, the unlikely looking function of photosynthesis through the white velvet layer that keeps the plant in business (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Leistner, (Ed.), 2000; iNaturalist).