Family: Asteraceae Form: Herb Origin: Native to South Africa. Weed Type(s): Weed, Naturalised, Garden Escape, Environmental Weed

photo R. Boden

Notes: Many hybrids have been developed in cultivation which makes identification difficult.

Gazania is a tough, low-growing perennial herb with lance-shaped leaves and brightly coloured daisy-like flowers in bronze, yellow and orange tones. It produces abundant wind-blown seeds and spreads rapidly. It withstands salt-laden winds and grows well in sandy soils. It is often spread in garden waste.

Gazania is widespread and common in Victoria and naturalised in South Australia and Western Australia.

The related Coastal gazania, Gazania rigens, has become naturalised on coastal dunes and along roadsides from southern Sydney to the central coast, on the Eyre Peninsula and southern Mt Lofty region of South Australia and in the Moreton region of South-east Queensland.

References:

Randall, R. P. (2002). A Global Compendium of Weeds. R. G. & F.J. Richardson, Melbourne.
Royal Horticultural Society (1992). Dictionary of Gardening. The Macmillan Press Limited, London.
Blood, K. (2001). Environmental Weeds. A Field Guide for S E Australia, C. H. Jerram & Associates-Science Publishers, Mt Waverley Victoria.