Alepidea species

This plant is one of the Alepidea species, seen in Mpumalanga. The alepideas are perennials in the Apiaceae family found in the summer rainfall region of South Africa, the north-easterly neighbouring countries and as far as Kenya and Ethiopia.

It may be Alepidea setifera but then the flowers would almost always be white. A. basinuda and A. reticulata are quite similar. Alepidea, commonly known as tinsel flowers, are tufted plants bearing ground level leaf rosettes and erect flower stems, usually from a strong, sometimes fleshy rootstock.

The simple leaves have toothed margins with bristle attachments, the basal leaves petioled and the stem leaves sessile.

Small, stalkless flowers grow in few-flowered heads. Involucral bracts grow in two rows and join at the base, forming a collar resembling the petals. The petals are keeled on top, forming a star-shape, in some cases daisy-like (Manning, 2009; Leistner, (Ed.), 2000; Pooley, 1998; iNaturalist).