Arctotheca calendula

English: Cape Weed - Cape Dandelion - Cape Marigold
Nederlands:
Español: Margarita africana - Malahierba del Cabo
Français:
Deutsch:

Family: Asteraceae - Daisy family
Flowering time: February to June
Height: to 40cm
Altitude:
Colour: yellow
Leaves: grey-green, slightly rough, white wooly below, in flat rosettes
Habitat: coastal brackish sands, waste places, sandy roadsides
Distribution: native to South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland, naturalized in southwest Spain and Portugal
Synonym: Cryptostemma calendulacea





Notes: Cape Weed has naturalised in the Doñana National Park, Tarifa, Zahara de los Atunes and other places in southwest Spain. It is locally abundant. It is cultivated as an ornamental groundcover but has invasive potential when introduced to a new area. The plant can reproduce vegetatively or via seed. Seed-bearing plants are most likely to become weedy, taking hold most easily in bare or sparsely vegetated soil or disturbed areas.

Related key words: Andalucía, Andalusia, exotic species