Venidium fastuosum
Encyclopedia
Venidium fastuosum is a species of flowering plant in the aster family
known by the common names monarch of the veld, Cape daisy, and Namaqualand daisy. It is native to South Africa
and Namibia
, and it is cultivated as an ornamental plant
for its flowers. It is an annual herb growing up to about 35 centimeters in maximum height, but known to approach 90 centimeters at times. It is hairy in texture, the hairs long and webby when the plant is young. Leaves occur in basal rosettes and are alternately arranged along the stem. They can be several centimeters long all but the uppermost are divided into several lobes. They are borne on flat petioles
with wide bases. The inflorescence
is a solitary flower head
which can be large and showy, measuring up to 10 centimeters wide. Cultivar
s are bred for varied flower colors; the ray florets can be orange or white with purple, yellow, or orange bases, and the disc florets at the center can be brown, purple, or black.
Asteraceae
The Asteraceae or Compositae , is an exceedingly large and widespread family of vascular plants. The group has more than 22,750 currently accepted species, spread across 1620 genera and 12 subfamilies...
known by the common names monarch of the veld, Cape daisy, and Namaqualand daisy. It is native to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
, and it is cultivated as an ornamental plant
Ornamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
for its flowers. It is an annual herb growing up to about 35 centimeters in maximum height, but known to approach 90 centimeters at times. It is hairy in texture, the hairs long and webby when the plant is young. Leaves occur in basal rosettes and are alternately arranged along the stem. They can be several centimeters long all but the uppermost are divided into several lobes. They are borne on flat petioles
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
with wide bases. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a solitary flower head
Head (botany)
The capitulum is considered the most derived form of inflorescence. Flower heads found outside Asteraceae show lesser degrees of specialization....
which can be large and showy, measuring up to 10 centimeters wide. Cultivar
Cultivar
A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
s are bred for varied flower colors; the ray florets can be orange or white with purple, yellow, or orange bases, and the disc florets at the center can be brown, purple, or black.