Helichrysum herbaceum (Andrews) Sweet

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

Habit

Perennial herb 0.3–0.6 m high, stoloniferous, the stems solitary or few, simple or branching, densely leafy; stems pubescent.

Leaves

Leaves greyish, sometimes rosette leaves present (these obovate, to 5 cm long and to 2 cm wide, but not seen in our area); cauline leaves sessile, linear, 1–3 cm long, 0.1–0.3(–0.5) cm wide, margins revolute, apex acute and mucronate, grey-pubescent and glabrescent above (or rarely scabrid), tomentose beneath.

Capitulum

Capitula 16–22 mm long, heterogamous, terminal and solitary, but sometimes stems branching and distal part forming an inflorescence; stalks of individual capitula 0–3 mm long; phyllaries yellow, the outermost shiny and varying from brown-tinged lemon yellow to greenish yellow, multiseriate, 4–17 mm long, acute, stereome hairy or glandular; receptacle honeycombed.

Florets

Florets yellow to orange; outer ones few (10–40), tube narrowly cylindric, 4.2–4.4 mm long, lobes ± 0.3 mm long, style 5–5.2 mm long; inner ones many, tube cylindric, 4.1–4.9 mm long, lobes 0.3–0.5 mm long, glandular, anthers 2.1 mm long, style 4.6–4.8 mm long.

Fruits

Achenes ellipsoid, 1–1.5 mm long, glabrous; pappus yellowish, 4.5–5 mm long, tips subplumose.

Habitat

Montane grassland; 1600–2800 m

Distribution

T6 T7