Osteospermum polygaloides

Osteospermum polygaloides is a sparsely branched, erect shrub that reaches 2 m in height. Some of the plant populations sprout after fire by growing multistemmed from the ground.

The distribution is in the Western Cape from the Cape Peninsula northwards to Clanwilliam and eastwards to western parts of the Eastern Cape. This plant was photographed in the Kogelberg during November, where a fire occurred a couple of years earlier. The flowers are often seen after fire.

The habitat is sandstone slopes among fynbos and scrub where it grows in sandy or clayey soils. The species is not considered threatened in habitat early in the twenty first century (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Manning, 2007; Bean and Johns, 2005; iSpot; JSTOR; http://redlist.sanbi.org).