Euryops speciosissimus old flowerhead

The old Euryops speciosissimus flowerhead has a bulging green involucre starting to change colour, now that its rays are shrivelled and droopy, deprived of their prior golden splendour. The bract bases appear comb-like, separating hairy parts of ray florets where fruits are now forming.

Much can be expected from one head as far as seed setting is concerned, never a waste as the individual seed’s probability of making it to a new plant is rather low. Propagation safety lies in numbers for most plants of the Asteraceae and many other plant families.

Fortunately flowers are widely popular in the animal world, their abundance lifting moods of many, including many people. Just think how they flock to Namaqualand in springtime (Manning, 2009; www.plantzafrica.com).