African daisies are one of the loveliest garden plants.
Selected forms of African daisies are available in a variety
of shades such as orange, cream, yellow and salmon. The striking daisy
shaped flowers attract butterflies into the garden. Bees love this plant as
they collect the nectar from the flowers. African daisy is an annual that grows
up to 1 ft tall. The leaves are light green when mature with shallowly lobed
margins. They are slender, spoon-shaped, reaching up to 8 cm long. The stems
are reddish in colour and are often covered by the masses of leaves around
them. African daisy is a particularly attractive species of
the genus Dimorphotheca, with remarkably big orange flowers that have orange
centres. They need
full sun to open and they always face the sun. Around the centre at the bottom
of the petals is a narrow, greenish mauve ring. The flowering time is
mid-winter to mid-autumn. The flowers are up to 8 cm across and are borne
singularly at the tip of each branch.
Dimorpotheca = Greek dis (twice) + morphe (shape)
+ theka (a fruit), referring to the two different kinds of seeds
produced by the ray and the disc flowers.
Identification credit: Tabish
Photographed in
New Delhi
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The flower labeled African Daisy orange is ...
ntroduced