Polyarrhena stricta

Polyarrhena stricta is a sparsely branched shrublet reaching about 30 cm in height. The simple, lance-shaped leaves are spreading and hairy, their margins roughened.

The flowerheads grow solitary or in clusters at stem tips. The one row of spreading white ray florets around a yellow disc are purple on their outside surfaces. The three rows of involucral bracts are only hairy near their tips. Flowering happens in spring.

The species distribution is in the southwest of the Western Cape, from Caledon to Bredasdorp. The photo was taken near Caledon.

The habitat is coastal and montane fynbos. The habitat population stability is unknown as the species is data deficient early in the twenty first century (Manning, 2007; Bean and Johns, 2005; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist; https://redlist.sanbi.org).