Gazania linearis

Gazania linearis is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common name treasure flower. It is native to southern Africa, particularly South Africa, but it can be found in other parts of the world with similar climates where it has taken hold as an introduced species, such as in California and New Mexico in the United States; Australia; and New Zealand, where it has been classified as a weed. The species typically grows on grassy and rocky hillsides. The Gazania Linearis is classified as invasive in some areas, including California. Gazania linearis is a mat-forming or clumping perennial herb growing from rhizomes. Specimens that exhibit a mat-forming growth habit have been shown to have stabilizing effect in coastal dune environments. Its leaves have long, winged petioles and form basal rosettes at the ground around the branching stem. The leaves have oval-shaped, dull green leaflets with woolly undersides. The plant produces large, solitary daisy-like flower-heads in shades of bright yellow and orange, although the colors may vary in cultivated specimens. Each head may be up to 8 centimeters (3 inches) across and has a dark reddish center of disc florets and an outer fringe of about 20 long ray florets. The ray florets may have dark spots near the bases, curl upwards along their edges, and close at night. The fruit is a tiny achene covered in very long hairs several times the length of the fruit body.