ISI 2006-29. Othonna protecta Dinter

This composite (Asteraceae) bears small yellow daisy-like heads of flowers and is a prolific producer of seeds and seedlings in our shade house. It is surprising that it has not become more widely established in cultivation, as it occurs scattered across Namaqualand north through the Richtersveld into Namibia. Though rarely cultivated, or even illustrated, it did appear in the Cactus and Succulent Journal in Graham Williamson’s article about rock-garden habitats (Vol. 74: 278 - 284, 2002). It rapidly develops a flask-shaped caudex topped by slender, lax stems that can be pinched to maintain a compact specimen, though the stems naturally die back to the caudex during summer dormancy. HBG 94019, seedlings from J. Trager et al. 97-165, three plants and seed coll. Aug. 16, 1997, atop a koppie just N of Klipbok in the eastern Richtersveld, ca. 15 km SE of Eksteenfontein, N. Cape, S. Africa. $5.

Photo © 2006 by John N. Trager. Images may not be used elsewhere without permission.

Published in the Cactus and Succulent Journal, Vol. 78 (2), March - April, 2006