Pentatrichia integra flowerheads

The stalked flowerheads of Pentatrichia integra grow solitary at stem-tips, sometimes profusely. Flowering happens in late spring and summer.

In picture a multitude of tiny disc florets form each head overflows the involucre. There are no ray florets. The involucre comprises one row of numerous, narrow bracts, pointed and green, sometimes pale. A flowerhead becomes about 2 cm long.

The fruits have pappus bristles alternating with small, acutely pointed scales. The seeds are hairy, a distinctive feature of the genus (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Klaassen and Bergh, 2012: Inclusion of the Cape genus Anisothrix in the Namibian-centred genus Pentatrichia (Asteraceae, Gnaphalieae) based on a molecular phylogenetic analysis. SA Journal of Botany, 78, 2-11; iNaturalist).