Osmitopsis asteriscoides

    Osmitopsis asteriscoides
    Author: Ivan Lätti
    Photographer: Judd Kirkel Welwitch

    Osmitopsis asteriscoides, commonly known as the swamp daisy, mountain daisy or in Afrikaans belskruie (bels herb), is a slender, camphor-scented shrub reaching heights around 2 m.

    The species distribution is in the far southwest of the Western Cape, from the Cape Peninsula to Paarl, Caledon and Hermanus.

    The habitat is moist areas such as seeps and marshes where the plants sometimes form dense stands. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century.

    The plant has a history of traditional medicinal uses in some local cultures (Marais, (Ed.), 2017; Manning, 2007; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).

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