Oldenburgia grandis on:
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''Oldenburgia grandis'' is a shrub or small, gnarled tree 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 ...
. It occurs in the mountains around Grahamstown
Makhanda, also known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 140,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Port Elizabeth and southwest of East London. Makhanda is the largest town in the Makana ...
in 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 coun ...
. It grows to a height of about 5m on sandstone outcrops. It has thick corky bark and large leaves clustered at the ends of branches. The leaves are dark green and leathery, reminiscent of loquat leaves, but generally a good deal larger. The emergent leaves are densely and completely felted with white hair. Most of the felt is lost as the leaf matures, but some persists on under-surfaces. Flowers are white or purplish and borne in large heads
A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals m ...
some 5- to 12 cm in diameter. The flowerheads are terminal; The same plant may bear solitary heads, plus heads borne in loose, irregular panicle
A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...
s.
It is threatened by habitat loss
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...
.
References
Sources
*External links
* Oldenburgia Trees of South Africa Near threatened plants Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Henri Ernest Baillon Taxa named by Carl Peter Thunberg {{asteraceae-stub