Dasispermum suffruticosum leaves and flowers

The leaves of Dasispermum suffruticosum or sea parsley are leathery as well as fleshy, appropriately tough-skinned for surviving on or above the exposed sand. Sturdy and deep green to pale, the stems are woody at the base, the leaf petioles and inflorescence peduncles cylindrical. Branching begins at ground level and increases on the way up.

The leaves are finely and multiply divided into elaborate patterns that result in the parsley resemblance. The leaves are up to 8 cm long on stalks half that length.

The flat-topped clusters (umbels) of white to cream coloured flowers radiating out on long stalks have yellow centres and yellow buds. They may measure more than 3 cm across. Blooming happens from late winter to mid-autumn, but this varies across the distribution range (Bean and Johns, 2005; Manning and Goldblatt, 1996; iNaturalist).