Arctotheca prostrata (USA)

Arctotheca prostrata (Salisb.) Britten, 61 1916. (Syn: Arctotheca grandiflora Schrad.; Arctotheca hirta Schrad. ex Steud.; Arctotheca repens J.C.Wendl.; Arctotis interrupta Thunb.; Arctotis prostrata Salisb.; Arctotis repens Jacq.);
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Asteraceae Week Part 1-Radiate Heads: Arctotheca prostrata from California-GS22 : Attachments (3). 2 posts by 2 authors.
Arctotheca protrata, a perennial mat forming herb common in SFO zoo and other places in California.

Asteraceae for ID : Golden Gate Park, San Francisco : 11SEP21 : AK – 012: 2 images.

While going through my California plants, I found some I had missed earlier.

Leaves are close to Gerbera.

Please advice.

My best guess is Arctotis arctotoides which is in cultivation in the USA (see calflora). It is also similar to Gerbera and Gazania and I am not 100% confident of my identification.

Your guess seems to be correct as per the link below since the flowers and leaves are both matching.
wildflowernursery

Pl. also consider Arctotheca prostrata as per images and details herein.

To me appears close.

… suggestion of Arctotis arctotoides looks closer to me.

Did you check the link I had sent?

Yes, I checked it. Looked a bit different.

Not the first image, the subsequent ones.

Arctotis and Arctotheca are quite similar. The paper by McKenzie et al. 2011 (sciencedirect) is quite useful for distinguishing features:

Table 1. Comparison of selected morphological characters in Arctotis sect. Anomalae with other sections of Arctotis and Arctotheca.

Character	*Arctotheca*	*Arctotis* sect. Anomalae	*Arctotis* (other sections)
Ray floret fertility	Neuter	Neuter or female	Female
Central disc floret fertility	Hermaphro dite	Hermaphro dite	Functionally male or sterile
Floral scent	Present (absent in A. populifolia)	Present	Absent
Disc floret corolla lobe elaboration	Tuberculate	Tuberculate or applanate	Applanate
Disc floret style thickening base	Truncate	Truncate	Attenuate
Filament ornamentation	Papillose	Papillose	Smooth
Maximum pappus scale length	Always shorter than achene	Usually longer than achene	Shorter or longer than achene
Achene—adaxial ribs	Longitudinal ridges	Weakly developed into wings	Longitudinal ridges (well-developed wings in A. breviscapa)
Achene—abaxial ribs	Longitudinal ridges	Two well-developed wings	Two or three well-developed wings

However, I ‘m not convinced I could see any of these with confidence in the photos so I am not 100% sure. Both are possible.

References:

The Plant List Wikipedia
https://www.cal-ipc.org/plants/profile/arctotheca-prostrata-profile/
https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=11138
https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=82568

Updated on December 24, 2024