Osteospermum ecklonis (D.C.) Norlindh   Asteraceae (Sunflower Family)                                                                                                 South Africa    African Daisy   Freeway Daisy

                                     July Photo

Plant Characteristics:  Subshrub, stems branched from base, decumbent or ascending, sometimes over 1 m. tall; lvs. alternate, narrowed to a petiole less than 10 cm. long, oblong to oblanceolate, coarsely serrate, glandular-hairy; flowering heads 1-few, 5-8 cm. in dia., closing at night; ray fls. +/- 15; ligule less than 4 cm., white above, blue-purple beneath, or blue-purple throughout, ligule three-toothed; disk fls. blue-purple; anther tip ovate or triangular-ovate, base sagittate, short-tailed; style branches short, not separating; fr. +/- 7 mm., narrowly triangular-ovoid, lightly net-sculptured; pappus 0.

Habitat:  Planted on freeways, banks and bluffs to control erosion; below 200 m.  Blooms most of the year.

Name:  Greek, Osteospermum, bone and seed, referring to the hard achenes.  Ecklonis, named in honor of Christian Friedrich Ecklon, 1795-1868, apothecary and botanical collector.  (Bailey 42,1015).

General:  Occasional in the study area as an escape from cultivation.  Photographed on the 23rd Street Bluffs, on the path from Mariner's Dr. going toward North Star Beach and at the northerly end of  Eastbluff near the top of the bank.  (my comments).     Nearly 70 species, one grown for ornament.  (Bailey 1015).   The species listed in Bailey, O. ecklonis, is presumably the one species grown for ornament per Bailey above.  The Sunset New Western Garden Book, page 388, lists O. ecklonis and O. fruticosum and calls the latter plant a trailing species.  O. ecklonis, is also a trailing species and an actual keying of the plant in 1994 by John Johnson and myself indicates that the species in the Upper Bay is O. ecklonis.  (my comments).       Roberts, on page 84 in his second edition of A Checklist of the Vascular Plants of Orange County, California, 1998, states that O. ecklonis=O. fruticosum.  (my comment).

Text Ref:  Bailey 1015; Hickman, Ed. 322; Sunset Editors 388.

Photo Ref:  July 1 83 # 23; July 3 83 # 20; Mar 3 85 # 11; July 1 86 # 6,8.

Identity: by John Johnson.  

First Found:  July 1983.

Computer Ref:  Plant Data 188.

Have plant specimen.

Last edit 5/15/05.  

                                   July Photo                                                                                February Photo