Euryops pectinatus leaves

The attraction of the comb-like leaves of Euryops pectinatus can be seen in this specimen growing in Kirstenbosch. This is one of the indigenous plants that visitors to Table Mountain find along the walkways on the top of the mountain, as well as along the slopes. The flowerheads exude a resinous substance making them sticky to the touch.

Euryops is a genus in the Asteraceae family, maybe the largest family of flowering plants on earth, comprising more than 23 000 species. There is uncertainty about the number of species in Asteraceae and Orchidaceae, leaving them as the two contenders for the title of biggest flowering plant family (Clarke and Mackenzie, 2007; www.plantzafrica.com).