Names and synonyms

Relhania fruticosa (L.) Bremer
=Anthemis fruticosa Linnaeus
=Anthemis bellidiastrum L., nom. superfl.
=Osmites bellidiastrum (L.) L. (non Thunb. 1800 p. 163 = Osmitopsis osmitoides (Less.) Bremer)
=Relhania bellidiastrum (L.) L'Heritier
=Relhania paleacea (L.) L'Herit. var. bellidiastrum (L.) S. Moore
=Leyssera ericoides Bergius
=Relhania ericoides (Berg.) Cassini
=Leyssera paleacea Linnaeus
=Relhania paleacea (L.) L'Heritier
=Eclopes paleacea (L.) Poiret
=Relhania ericoides (Berg.) Cass. var. �. paleacea (L.) Harvey
=Relhania santolinoides L'Heritier
=Relhania ericoides (Berg.) Cass. var. a. santolinoides (L'Herit.) Harvey
=Relhania tomentosa Willd. ex Less, (non Thunb. 1800 p. 146 = Amphiglossa tomentosa  (Thunb.) Harv.)

Type

Ecklon & Zeryher s.n., Cape mountains near Cape Town (HBG)

Derivation of names

Relhania = after Irish-born Richard Relhan (1754-1823), botanist, plant collector, bryologist, lichenologist, one of the founders of the Linnean Society, rector in Lincolnshire and author of Flora Cantabile.
fruticosa = shrubby

Diagnostic characters

Leaves linear
Pappus tubular
Involucre urn-shaped

Description

A shrublet 0.4-0.5 m tall, sparsely woolly, densely leafy. Stems ascending-erect, tomentose, leafy, becoming glabrous and nude and marked with leaf-scars. Leaves needle-like, 3-22 x 0.5-1.5 mm, erect-spreading, canaliculate, densely white-woolly above, cobwebby below, margins rolled in, tip hooked. Capitula solitary, stalkless, terminal, 10 mm diameter, outer and central flowers yellow. Involucre widely urn-shaped-almost globose, 3-10 mm wide. Involucral bracts 30-70, in several rows, overlapping, hard and dry. outer ovate, inner gradually longer with a spreading apical limb. Receptacle flat, paleate. Paleae canaliculate, linear or narrowly spatulate, 4-6 x 0.3-0.6 mm, dorsally gland-dotted, acute-acuminate. Ray florets 16-30, tube 1.5-2.5 mm long, glandular, lamina narrowly elliptic, 4-8 x 1-1.8 mm wide, 4-veined. Disc florets 60-120, perfect. Pappus tubular, apically irregularly dentate, up to 1.5 mm long. Cypsela terete, narrowly oblong, 1.5-2.4 x 0.4-0.6 mm, glabrous.

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Flowering time

Mainly from September to October (to November).

Distribution

Southwestern Cape, mainly distributed around Cape Town, French Hoek, Worcester, Tulbagh, Ceres, Malmesbury and Piketberg.
Known from more than 95 specimens.

Habitat

Clay or sandy flats in Fynbos.

Notes

Currently a very variable species complex that should be studied carefully to verify the identities of species outside the general distribution area.

References

BREMER, K. 1976. The genus Relhania (Compositae). Opera Botanica 40.
GLEN, H.F. 2004. SAPPI, What's in a Name? The Meanings of the Botanical Names of Trees. Jacana.
KESTING, D. & CLARKE, H. 2008. Botanical names, what they mean. Wild Flowers of the Cape Peninsula, 3rd revised edition. Friends of Silvermine.
MANNING. J. 2007. Field Guide to Fynbos. Struik Publishers.
TRINDER-SMITH, T. 2006. Wild Flowers of Table Mountain National Park. South African Wild Flower Guide 12. Botanical Society of South Africa.

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