Gerbera piloselloides (L.) Cass.

Compositae, H. Beentje, C. Jeffrey & D.J.N. Hind. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 2005

Morphology General Habit

Herb with thick perennial rootstock and fleshy roots; crown of rootstock densely woolly with long white hairs.

Morphology Leaves

Leaves prostrate or semi-prostrate, lanceolate or oblanceolate, obovate, broadly elliptic or ovate, 5.5–30 cm long, 1–8 cm wide, base attenuate to cuneate or rounded to an unwinged petioloid base, margins entire, apex obtuse to rounded, sometimes very shortly acuminate, pinnately veined, ± densely cottony-pilose and sometimes woolly on petioloid base and lower part of mid-rib beneath, scattered-pilose to almost glabrous above, with usually prominently brownish-hairy margins.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Scapes 1–3 from each rosette, rarely precocious, green or purplish, 7–95 cm long, ± tomentose in lower part, the uppermost ± 2 cm immediately below the capitulum inflated and very densely tomentose with usually golden-brown hairs, ebracteate or rarely with a few small bracts towards the apex; capitula with the rays ± equalling the involucre, ± 2 cm in diameter; involucre narrowly urn-shaped or cylindrical, 16–28 mm long, becoming broader and slightly longer in fruit; phyllaries ± 25–55, green or purplish or purplish only at the tips, lanceolate, the longest 13–19 mm long, acute, usually densely brownish-pilose, rarely subglabrous.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets

Outer florets ± 15–35, female; corolla 12.5–15.5 mm long, with the outer lip ray-like, 5–10 mm long, ± 1.2 mm wide, white usually tinged pink to maroon on the outside, at least at the apex; outermost inner florets female, ± 15–65 or rarely absent, innermost ± 15–50 hermaphrodite; corollas white, 7.5–11 mm long, lips subequal.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Achenes brownish, minutely pubescent, fusiform, ± 3-angled with 5–7 prominent ribs, attenuate into a long beak, 8–11(–19) mm long; pappus of tawny setae 7.5–9 mm long.

Figures

Fig. 3/5–6.

Habitat

A pyrophyte of grassland in seasonally wet places, wooded grassland, open deciduous woodland, deciduous forest, heath and moor; 900–3700 m

Distribution

K1 K2 K3 K4 K5 K6 K7 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 T8 Cameroon, Congo (Kinshasa), Rwanda, Burundi, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, and south to South AfricaYemen, Madagascar, eastern Himalaya, Assam, northern Burma, Thailand and Indo-China, south China, Java

Compositae, G. V. Pope. Flora Zambesiaca 6:1. 1992

Morphology General Habit

An acaulescent perennial herb, from a thickened woody rootstock; rootcrowns densely long silky-lanate; roots numerous slender thong-like.

Morphology Leaves

Leaves few to many, radical, ascending or spreading; petiole up to c. 10 cm. long, but usually shorter or absent; lamina usually turning dark-brown on drying, 4–20(30) x 1.5–7 cm., broadly oblanceolate, rounded or sub-obtuse mucronulate at the apex, attenuate sometimes broadly cuneate, or rounded below and ± decurrent on the petiole, margins entire, upper surface sparsely pilose-hispid to glabrescent, lower surface thinly pilose or araneose to glabrescent; midrib and margins silky-villose, more densely so towards the base and on the rootcrown.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Scape

Scapes solitary sometimes several, appearing with the young leaves, erect slender, elongating after seed-set to c. 90 cm. long, widening at the apex, brown pilose to glabrescent in the lower part, villose above becoming more densely so and usually golden-brown just below the apex, the hairs one or more times obliquely septate.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Capitulum

Capitula solitary erect; involucres mostly 16–28 x 15–35 mm., broadly obconic; phyllaries drying dark-purplish or brown, from c. 12 mm. long outside to c. 26 mm. long inside, linear-triangular tapering to an acute apex, hispid-pilose to glabrescent, the inner with hyaline often undulate margins.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets

Outer florets female, of two kinds; a marginal series of ray-florets with the outer lip strap-shaped, usually creamy-white and tinged reddish below, or mauve to dark-red, rays erect c. 7 x 1 mm. exceeding the pappus by up to c. 6 mm., linear minutely 3-dentate, the inner lip of 2 linear often curled lobes 2–3 mm. long, the tube c. 7 mm. long cylindric, pappus copius, several seriate of minutely barbellate setae 6–11 mm. long, achenes8–11 mm. long increasing to c. 19 mm. long including a beak to c. 14 mm. long in mature achenes, narrowly flask-shaped and long-beaked at the apex, narrowly 4–8-ribbed, sparsely puberulous; a submarginal series of fewer florets, bilabiate not markedly strap-shaped, corollas 9–10 mm. long, slender-tubular, the outer lip 1.5–2 mm. long and minutely 3-dentate, the inner lip of 2 erect linear lobes, the pappus and achenes as for the outer ray-florets. Central florets creamy-white, numerous, functionally male, corollas to c. 11 mm. long, 2-lipped, the outer lip minutely 3-dentate, the inner lip with 2 linear curved lobes; pappus and achenes as for ray-florets.

sex Female

Outer florets female, of two kinds; a marginal series of ray-florets with the outer lip strap-shaped, usually creamy-white and tinged reddish below, or mauve to dark-red, rays erect c. 7 x 1 mm. exceeding the pappus by up to c. 6 mm., linear minutely 3-dentate, the inner lip of 2 linear often curled lobes 2–3 mm. long, the tube c. 7 mm. long cylindric, pappus copius, several seriate of minutely barbellate setae 6–11 mm. long, achenes8–11 mm. long increasing to c. 19 mm. long including a beak to c. 14 mm. long in mature achenes, narrowly flask-shaped and long-beaked at the apex, narrowly 4–8-ribbed, sparsely puberulous; a submarginal series of fewer florets, bilabiate not markedly strap-shaped, corollas 9–10 mm. long, slender-tubular, the outer lip 1.5–2 mm. long and minutely 3-dentate, the inner lip of 2 erect linear lobes, the pappus and achenes as for the outer ray-florets.

sex Male

Central florets creamy-white, numerous, functionally male, corollas to c. 11 mm. long, 2-lipped, the outer lip minutely 3-dentate, the inner lip with 2 linear curved lobes; pappus and achenes as for ray-florets.

Compositae, C. D. Adams. Flora of West Tropical Africa 2. 1963

Morphology General Habit

A perennial herb

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Solitary flower-heads on leafless peduncles 6-18 in. high, arising from a rosette of leaves

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets

Outer florets pale crimson to greenish-yellow

Ecology

In hill grassland.

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation

Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident

Compositae, H. Beentje, C. Jeffrey & D.J.N. Hind. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 2005

Morphology General Habit

Scapose herb, the stem and main taproot forming a compact woolly mass 2–4 cm high, with numerous side roots.

Morphology Leaves

Rosette leaves elliptic, with petiole to 1 cm long, blade 2–10 cm long, 1–3 cm wide, base cuneate, margins entire, apex obtuse, tomentellous on both surfaces with tubercle-based hairs, glabrescent except for midrib and margins.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Flowering stem 9–12.5 cm long, widening to 6–7 mm distally, brown-tomentose; capitulum solitary, ± 17 mm long; phyllaries lanceolate, 7–17 mm long, acute, tomentose, the innermost less so and purplish.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets

Ray florets pink, the abaxial side dark purple, 1-seriate, tube narrowly cylindrical, 5.3–6.5 mm long, ray 4–8 mm long, 0.5–0.6 mm wide, style 7–7.5 mm long; inner florets several tens, white or cream, tube cylindric, 6.8–8 mm long, lobes linear, erect, 3.2–3.7 mm long, distally glandular; anthers 4.7–5 mm long including the 1 mm long sagittate tails; style at this stage still included and 8 mm long, the arms slightly widened and rounded.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Achenes cylindric, 2–2.3 mm long, densely puberulous or short-papillose, distally narrowing and abruptly widening into a platform for the copious pappus; pappus in two rows, of many bristles, 10–10.5 mm long.

Figures

Fig. 61 (page 327).

Habitat

Open grassland, recently burned; 2600 m

Distribution

only known from the type T7