Kingdom: Plantae
(Unranked): Angiosperms
(Unranked): Eudicots
(Unranked): Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Tribe: Calenduleae
Genus: Osteospermum
Species: O. ecklonis
Binominal name: Osteospermum ecklonis
Synonym: Dimorphotheca ecklonis
Common name: Cape daisy, African daisy, Sailor Boy Daisy, Cape marguerite, Van Staden's river daisy, Sunday's river daisy, white daisy bush, Blue-and-white daisy bush, Star of the veldt.
Osteospermum ecklonis contains hydrocyanic acid and is poisonous to cattle.
Osteospermum ecklonis is a dicot perennial herb and is a native plant of South Africa. The fleshy leaves are toothed and the daisy it’s like composite flower consists of disc florets and ray florets, growing singly at the end of branches. The disc florets are pseudo-bisexual and are purple. The flowers have a dark blue centre in the disc until the yellow pollen is shed.
Though this plant is treated in New Zealand as an ornamental this plant is now regarded as a weed in parts of Australia, particularly Victoria and Western Australia.
The name 'Osteospermum' is exclusively used for the perennial forms while ‘Dimorphotheca’ is used for the annuals. Though there are aspects they are very different they both have in common that the flowers close at night.
There are many coloured hybrids of this species
Photographed among rocks at New Plymouth's port. November
Photographed on an Auckland street November.
The fleshy leaves.
Osteospermum ecklonis 'Balostlueye', Common name: Blue Eyed Beauty African Daisy
Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
