Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Gazania
Species: G. rigens
Variety name. Gazania rigens var. leucolaena
Synonyms: Gazania leucolaena, Gazania rigens, Gazania uniflora var. leucolaena
Common names: Trailing Gazania, Trailing Strand Gazania, Trailing treasure flower, Rankbotterblom, Strandgousblom
Gazania rigens var. leucolaena is a drought-tolerant, perennial coastal daisy plant. This species originates from Western and Eastern Cape in South Africa where it forms dense mats, often on dunes, often just above the high tide mark. Gazania rigens var. leucolaena is now grown in many temperate countries.
Gazania rigens var. leucolaena is a decumbent, evergreen flowering perennial. It develops spreading clumps of green to silvery grey foliage that blankets the ground.
A distinctive feature of the leaves is that they have a conspicuous densely, soft, white woolly covering on both sides. The specific name leucolaena (Latin) means white cloak, referring to the white woolly leaf covering. The leaves are alternate, up to 110 mm long and 30 mm broad, narrowly obovate to obovate, tapering to the petiole, undivided or pinnatifid with 1 or 2 pairs of obovate lobes. The apex can be acute or subobtuse.
The stems are simple or sparsely branched and are up to about 400 mm long and are evenly and densely leafy throughout. The stems contain a milky latex.
Throughout the August to February, many, solitary, bright yellow daisies (40 mm in diameter) are produced on >16 cm long stems just above the foliage. The base of the flower’s rays has no dark blotch like the rays of Gazania rigens. The flowers close at night and on overcast days.
Ray's base has no dark patch like
Photo of the leaves showing how the woolly covering can be removed by handling. Top left is a developing flower bud.
The leaves (young) covered in a soft, white woolly covering
The leave's woolly underside.
Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information:https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
