Dicoma

Dicoma is a genus of annuals, perennials and subshrubs with erect or prostrate annual stems in the Asteraceae or daisy family. The stems are often hairy, sometimes becoming woody.

The simple leaves are stalkless, alternate, or in basal rosettes, their margins sometimes rolled under or occasionally finely toothed.

The nearly spherical to bell-shaped, thistle-like involucres around the flowerhead bases comprise several rows of hairless, sharply pointed bracts often curving out. The receptacles are flat, without scales.

The flowerheads have tiny disc florets, sometimes also spreading ray florets. Some outer florets are female, the central ones bisexual. The corollas are white or purple, those of the disc florets deeply five-lobed, the upper tubes dilated.

The anthers are linear with lance-shaped appendages at the top and arrow-like tails. The styles are thread-like, slightly swollen at the base and divided into two parts at their tips.

The fruits are obovoid to obconical, ribbed and hairy. The pappuses consist of several rows of bristles or scales. The generic name is derived from the Greek words di meaning two and kome meaning a tuft of hair, referring to the sometimes two rows of pappus bristles.

There are about 35 Dicoma species found in tropical and southern Africa, India and some islands including Madagascar. Some of the species feature in traditional medicine. Many of the plants are palatable and much browsed.

The plant in picture is Dicoma picta (Leistner, (Ed.), 2000; Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Manning, 2009).