Heterolepis aliena

The rockdaisy, as Heterolepis aliena is commonly known, is a sprawling shrublet growing from a woody rootstock to heights around 30 cm.

It has needle-like leaves on cobwebby branches. They vary in length between 1,5 cm and 3 cm. The leaves are crowded at the tips of the many branched stems, curving slightly inwards. The margins are rolled under and sparsely toothed. The lower leaf surface, what little can be seen of it, is white with woolliness

The species distribution is from the Cape Peninsula to the southwest of the Northern Cape and eastwards to Worcester and Caledon. The plant in the photo, seen flowering among rocks in Bainskloof during October, has fairly grey leaf colouring, although maybe not as cobwebby as those growing on the Cape Peninsula and around Caledon.

Sandstone fynbos slopes, particularly rocky crevices are the common habitat. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century (Manning, 2007; iNaturalist; iSpot; http://redlist.sanbi.org).