Gazania rigida

Gazania rigida (the "Karoo Gazania") is one of the flowers known as a calendula, native to the Western Cape and Northern Cape Provinces of South Africa.[1]

Karoo Gazania
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Eudicots
(unranked):
Asterids
Order:
Asterales
Family:
Asteraceae
Genus:
Gazania
Species:
G. rigida
Binomial name
Gazania rigida
(Burm.f.) Roessler

Description

The flowers vary in colour from yellow to reddish-orange, often with brown-to-black patches at the petal bases. They are born on long, setose scapes.[2]

The involucre is hairy (setose), obtusely bell-shaped (campanulate) and 8-10mm wide. In addition to a few irregularly placed parietal bracts, the involucre also has at its apex two or three rows of terminal bracts.

  • The outermost row of terminal bracts are linear with acute tips and ciliate/ciliate margins.
  • The innermost row of terminal bracts are triangular with obtuse-acute tips and membranous margins (in contrast, those of Gazania serrata are acuminate).

The linear-lanceolate leaves can be simple or pinnate with linear-to-elliptic lobes. The upper leaf-surface is usually glabrous and smooth to slightly rough, and like many Gazania species the leaf undersides are tomentose. The leaf margins are entire (in contrast, the leaves of Gazania serrata are sticky and have serrated margins). [3]

Gazania rigida is very similar to a number of other Gazania species, including Gazania krebsiana, Gazania pectinata and Gazania linearis among others. Species boundaries between these are not clear, and they are frequently confused in practice.[4]

References
  1. "Red List Entry". SANBI.
  2. "PlantzAfrica Entry". SANBI.
  3. Magee, A.R., Boatwright, J.S. & Mucina, L. (2011). Gazania lanata and G. splendidissima: Two new species of Asteraceae (tribe Arctotideae) from the Greater Capensis, with an updated key for the genus. South African Journal of Botany 77(1):86-93.
  4. Mucina, L., Howis, S. & Barker, N. (2009). Globally grown, but poorly known: Species limits and biogeography of Gazania Gaertn. (Asteraceae) inferred from chloroplast and nuclear DNA sequence data. Taxon 58:871-882. 10.1002/tax.583015. p.879
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