Osteospermum

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Osteospermum Template:IPAc-en,Template:Refn<ref>Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607</ref> is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the Calenduleae, one of the smaller tribes of the sunflower/daisy family Asteraceae.<ref name="Journal">Template:Cite journal</ref> They are known as the daisybushes<ref>Template:PLANTS</ref> or African daisies.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Its species have been given several common names, including African daisy, South African daisy, Cape daisy and blue-eyed daisy. The name Cape daisy is also applied to Dimorphotheca pluvialis.

In horticulture, several widely cultivated species continue to be sold, grown and referred to as Osteospermum, however some of these species have been scientifically reclassified as being members of the genus Dimorphotheca, including Dimorphotheca barberae (synonym Osteospermum barberae);<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Dimorphotheca ecklonis (synonym Osteospermum ecklonis),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Dimorphotheca fruticosa (synonym Osteospermum fruticosum);<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Dimorphotheca jucunda (synonym Osteospermum jucundum).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Description

Their alternate (rarely opposite) leaves are green, but some variegated forms exist. The leaf form is lanceolate. The leaf margin is entire, but hardy types are toothed.

The daisy-like composite flower consists of disc florets and ray florets, growing singly at the end of branches or sometimes in inflorescences of terminal corymbose cymes. The disc florets are pseudo-bisexual and come in several colors such as blue, yellow and purple. The hardy types usually show a dark blue center in the disc until the yellow pollen is shed. The ray florets are female and are found in diverse colors such as white, cream, pink, purple, mauve, and yellow. Some cultivars have "spooned" petals such as "Pink Whirls".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Many species flower a second time late summer, stimulated by the cooler night temperatures. Hardy types show profuse flowering in the spring, but they do not get a second flush of flowers.

Taxonomy

The genus Osteospermum was named by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek ὀστέον (ostéon), meaning "bone", and σπέρμα (spérma), meaning "seed". Plants of the World Online and the South African National Biodiversity Institute accept a broad definition of the genus, which is a sister taxon to Dimorphotheca. Other authorities treat its generic synonyms (Chrysanthemoides, Oligocarpus, etc.) as separate genera.<ref name="POWO_10323-1"/><ref>Wessel Swanpoel, Vera de Cauwer and Abraham E. Van Wyk (2020) A new species of Osteospermum subgen. Tripteris (Asteraceae: Calenduleae) from the Namib Desert, Namibia. Phytotaxa 487 (3): 185–194 26 February 2021. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.487.3.1</ref>

Species

74 species are accepted:<ref name="POWO_10323-1"/>

Formerly placed here

Distribution

There are about 70 species native to southern and eastern Africa and the Arabian peninsula.<ref name="POWO_10323-1">Template:Cite web</ref>

Cultivation

Osteospermum are popular in cultivation, where they are frequently used in summer bedding schemes in parks and gardens. Numerous hybrids and cultivars have been grown with a wide range of tropical colors. Yellow cultivars tend to have a yellow center (sometimes off-white).

Plants prefer a warm and sunny position and rich soil, although they tolerate poor soil, salt or drought well. Modern cultivars flower continuously when watered and fertilised well, and dead-heading is not necessary, because they do not set seed easily. If planted in a container, soil should be prevented from drying out completely. If they do, the plants will go into "sleep mode" and survive the period of drought, but they will abort their flower buds and not easily come back into flower. Moreover, roots are relatively susceptible to rotting if watered too profusely after the dry period.

Cultivars

Most widely sold cultivars are grown as annuals, are mainly hybrids of O. jucundum, O. ecklonis and O. grandiflorum and can be hardy to -2 °C (30 °F). If hardy, they can be grown as perennials or as shrubs.

Cultivars (those marked Template:Smallcaps have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit):<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

File:White Spoon Osteospermum.JPG
'White Spoon'

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References

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Further reading

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