Gorteria diffusa subsp. diffusa flowerhead

Three characteristic black marks bulge at the bases of evenly spaced ray florets in this Gorteria diffusa subsp. diffusa daisy. Counting not being a daisy strong suit, there are sometimes only two marked rays, while flowerheads with marks on all their rays also occur.

Closely below the spreading rays of the open flowerhead the upper row of involucral bracts can be spotted: long, straight and thin, covered in sparse, long hairs. The still closed green buds show their narrow involucral bracts converging in a cone of thread-like structure.

The spreading leafy bracts immediately below the flowerhead are green and hairy. Shiny long hairs also appear on the branched, purple stalks of the flowerheads (Le Roux, et al, 2005; Manning and Goldblatt, 1997).