Athanasia trifurcata
ASTERACEAE

  Online Brand Ambassador     2020-06-08

• Drought, you say? Kouterbos don’t mind! This water-wise species occurs in a range of Cape Town lowland veld types including Cape Flats Sand Fynbos, South Peninsula Granite Fynbos, and Peninsula and Swartland Shale Renosterveld. It is a shrublet to 1.5m tall with rough, waxy, grey, wedge-shaped leaves. The specific epithet ‘trifurcata’ refers to the three forks at the tips of the leaves. Clusters of bright yellow flowerheads (with 5-100 florets each) make their presence known during the late spring flowering season. As a common pioneer plant, it may be overlooked by many botanists, but never by its bee, wasp, beetle, thrip and butterfly pollinators, making it a very valuable insect forage plant for urban gardens.
• Flowering time: (September) October-December
  In your garden: Plant in full sun in clay or sandy soils. Water to establish, extremely water-wise thereafter. Adaptable and easy to grow. A useful feathery filler between species with fresh green foliage, such as Salvia chamelaeagnea.
  Distribution: Flats and rocky slopes from Namaqualand in the north to Port Elizabeth in the east, often colonising roadsides and other disturbed sites
  Image: © James Puttick