''Oedera genistifolia'' ("Klein Perdekaroo") is a prickly shrublet belonging to 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 ...

. It is an abundant and common species in the southwestern cape,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

(Namaqualand to Grahamstown). It is most commonly found on lower north-facing slopes, especially on rocky clay and shale based soils.

Description

''Oedera genistifolia'' is a small (60cm high), erect shrublet. The leaves, which grow densely packed along the stems, are small (15mm), thin (3mm), straight, suberect, usually mucronate, and slightly furry along their margins and lower midrib. The leaf has a short point (mucro) at its tip, which is usually slightly hooked downwards. The leaf surfaces are also glandular, and the surface of the young leaves is slightly sticky. The yellow flowerheads appear in Spring. They are 10mm wide, and are born on short stalks (2-10mm)

Related species

It resembles '' Oedera squarrosa'', which however has leaves that are broader and more spreading-recurved.

References

{{Taxonbar Endemic flora of the Cape Provinces genistifolia Renosterveld