Schistostephium umbellatum

Schistostephium umbellatum, previously Peyrousea umbellata and in Afrikaans commonly belskruie (bels herb, a name shared with Osmitopsis asteriscoides), is an erect, sparsely branched shrub reaching heights from 60 cm to 90 cm.

The generic name, Schistostephium, is derived from the Greek words schistos meaning cloven and stephanos meaning crown, referring to the outer ring of florets in the head that are deeply toothed.

The species distribution is in the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape from Montagu to Humansdorp along the coast as well as inland, north of the southerly mountain ranges in the Little Karoo and the Langkloof. The photo was taken at Spookberg in the Langkloof.

The habitat is forest margins and fynbos from sea level to middle sandstone slopes in dry to wetland conditions. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century.

Six to nine species of Schistostephium occur in southern Africa, a few more in tropical Africa. These plants belong to the Anthemideae tribe of the Asteraceae family, the chamomiles and yarrows (Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; Leistner, (Ed.), 2000; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).