METALASIA AUREA

I have mentioned before that we are blessed with a variety of yellow indigenous flowers that brighten up the countryside. The blooms of the Bitou bushes still abound; lower down though are beautiful stands of other yellow flowers that create swathes of yellow along the sides of the roads and among the veld grass: Metalasia aurea. It is commonly known in Afrikaans as either geelsteekbossie or geelblombos.

Metalasia aurea is a densely branched shrub with needle-like, prickly leaves arranged in tight, twisted knots.

The small flowers are arranged in flat topped clusters composed of papery bracts. They attract a variety of insects and are indigenous to the Eastern Cape.

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