Dimorphotheca fruticosa
Common names
dimorphotheca
Biostatus
Exotic
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledonous composites
Flower colours
Violet/Purple, White
Detailed description
Perennial herb, becoming woody at the base often forming dense mats. The leaves are alternately arranged on procumbent stems. Leaves are fleshy, toothed and are up to 10 x 2.5 cm. Daisy-like flowers are produced with white-mauve petals and dark central disc. Many small seeds are produced.
Similar taxa
Can be distinguished form the closely related O. jucundum by the white ligule. The ligule is pink to mauve on O. jucundum
Habitat
Terrestrial. Sand and coastal sites.
Conservation status
Not applicable
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Asteraceae
Synonyms
Osteospermum fruticosum
Ecology
Flowering
August, September, October, November, December, January
Year naturalised
1977
Origin
South Africa
Reason for introduction
Ornamental
Tolerances
Very tolerant of salt.
Life cycle and dispersal
Vegetative spread by layering, and seed. Dispersal is by humans (particularly soil movement).
Other information
Etymology
fruticosa: Shrubby
Environmental Weed (2024)
This plant is named in a list of 386 environmental weeds in New Zealand 2024 prepared by DOC. 759 candidate species were considered for inclusion on this new comprehensive list of environmental weeds in New Zealand. The species considered were drawn from published lists of weed species, lists of plants that must be reported or managed by law if observed, existing national and regional programmes and agreements for pest management, and species already managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC). Candidate species were then assessed to see if they were fully naturalised and whether they have more than minor impacts in natural ecosystems. Read the full report here.
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
DIMFRU