''Dimorphotheca'' is a genus of plants in the family

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

, native to Africa. is one of eight genera of the

Calenduleae Calenduleae is a flowering plant tribe of the family Asteraceae. Calenduleae has been widely recognized since Alexandre de Cassini in the early 19th century. There are eight genera and over 110 species, mostly found in South Africa. It is a rela ...

, with a centre of diversity in

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...

. Some species can hybridize with ''

Osteospermum ''Osteospermum'' , is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the Calenduleae, one of the smaller tribes of the sunflower/daisy family Asteraceae. They are known as the daisybushes or African daisies. ''Osteospermum'' used to belong to the genu ...

'', and crosses are sold as cultivated ornamentals. The name "''Dimorphotheca''" comes from the Greek "Dis" "Morphe" and "Theka", meaning "two shaped receptacle", referring to the dimorphic

cypselae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

, a trait inherent to members of the Calenduleae.PlantZAfrica.com, Mhlonishwa D. Dlamini, Witwatersrand National Botanical Gardens July 2002
/ref> Plants of this genus usually have bisexual flowers. ; Species

References

Asteraceae genera {{asteroideae-stub