Arctotis venusta is a species of South African plants in the family Asteraceae. Common names include silver arctotis, kusgousblom, and blue-eyed African daisy. It is native to South Africa (Cape Provinces, Free State, and Northern Provinces), Lesotho, Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.[1] The species is widely cultivated as an ornamental, and has become naturalized in parts of the United States (California, Arizona, South Carolina),[2][3] Australia,[4] and Central and South America,[5] where it has escaped from gardens to become a noxious weed.[6]

Arctotis venusta
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Arctotis
Species:
A. venusta
Binomial name
Arctotis venusta
Norl. (1965)

Arctotis venusta is grown as a ground cover because of its silvery foliage and showy flower heads. It is adaptable to many conditions and is sometimes used to control erosion. It is a perennial with stout, woolly stems and aromatic, violin-shaped, heavily lobed leaves. The flower heads have many creamy-white to pink or bronze ray florets with lavender to reddish undersides and centers filled with purple disc florets. The fruit is a hard achene with a tuft of plumelike hairs on one end and an array of pappus scales on the other.[7]

The species is sometimes regarded as the same species as the rare A. stoechadifolia, but authors separate the two as distinct species.[7][2][6]

References

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  1. ^ Arctotis venusta Norl. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  2. ^ a b Calflora taxon report, Arctotis venusta Norl., Blue-eyed african daisy
  3. ^ Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
  4. ^ Atlas of Living Australia, Arctotis stoechadifolia P.J.Bergius, White Arctotis
  5. ^ Davidse, G., M. Sousa-Peña, S. Knapp & F. Chiang Cabrera. 2015. Asteraceae. 5(2): ined. In G. Davidse, M. Sousa Sánchez, S. Knapp & F. Chiang Cabrera (eds.) Flora Mesoamericana. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México D.F.
  6. ^ a b Norlindh, Nils Tycho 1965. Botaniska Notiser 118(4): 406–411
  7. ^ a b Flora of North America Arctotis stoechadifolia
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