Didelta spinosa [Perdeblom]

[nfoto]

Rørslett, B. 2022. Didelta spinosa (L.fil.) Aiton. Asteraceae. Perdeblom. South-African flowers photographed in ultraviolet (UV) and visible light. LINK

 

Perdeblom (Afrikaans) = Horse Flower

 

Didelta spinosa is a shrub growing to a height of 2-3m. It is endemic to the Cape and North Cape provinces of South Africa, and extends into Namibia.  Its habitat is dry rocky soils.

 

I photographed this species at Doringbos, North Cape province, South Africa in 2015.

 

 

Didelta spinosa. Visible light,

 

Seen in ultraviolet (UV),

 

All images on this page are copyright Birna Rørslett and cannot be used without explicit permission from the authour.

[colinbm]

This is very bright in UV

[Andy Perrin]

A dramatic flower in UV. 

[Andrea B.]

That is a cool bulls-eye pattern with the contrasting false-yellow disk florets.

[nfoto]

Yes it is, but I later found out this appearance is not unique. Other South-African species from the Asteraceae have similar and I hope to post some examples later.