DAISY & BEE

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

STRAWFLOWER

Xerochrysum bracteatum, commonly known as the golden everlasting or strawflower, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to Australia. Described by Étienne Pierre Ventenat in 1803, it was known as Helichrysum bracteatum for many years before being transferred to a new genus Xerochrysum in 1990.

It grows as a woody or herbaceous perennial or annual shrub up to a metre tall with green or grey leafy foliage. Golden yellow or white flower heads are produced from spring to autumn; their distinctive feature is the papery bracts that resemble petals. The species is widespread, growing in a variety of habitats across the country, from rainforest margins to deserts and subalpine areas. The golden everlasting serves as food for various larvae of lepidopterans (butterflies and moths), and adult butterflies, hoverflies, native bees, small beetles and grasshoppers visit the flower heads.

The golden everlasting has proven very adaptable to cultivation. It was propagated and developed in Germany in the 1850s, and annual cultivars in a host of colour forms from white to bronze to purple flowers became available. Many of these are still sold in mixed seed packs. In Australia, many cultivars are perennial shrubs, which have become popular garden plants. Sturdier, long-stemmed forms are used commercially in the cut flower industry.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

BRACHYSCOME

Brachyscome multifida is a perennial herb in the family Asteraceae. Common names include cut-leaved daisy, rocky daisy, and Hawkesbury daisy. The species is endemic to Australia.

This species has an erect, matting growth habit growing to 45 cm in height. The foliage is fine and deeply divided and the flowerheads arise above the foliage on 4 to 40 cm long peduncles. The ray florets are mauve, pink or white and are 7 to 10 mm long. The main flowering season is early autumn to mid winter, but the daisy-like flowerheads may appear throughout the year.

The species and its cultivars are popular in horticulture, and are used for mass plantings, in hanging baskets, in borders and spilling over retaining walls. They can be grown in a wide range of soils and tolerates dry conditions, but will benefit from supplementary watering. Plants are best situated in a position with full sun, although partial shade is tolerated. Although relatively frost tolerant, foliage may burn. The plants is readily propagated by cuttings which strike readily. Plants may also be propagated by layering or from seed, though germination rate is usually poor.

This post is part of the Nature Footsteps Floral Macros meme,
and also part of the Our World Tuesday meme.

OSTEOSPERMUM - CAPE DAISY

The name Osteospermum is derived from the Greek osteon (= bone) and Latin spermum (= seed). Osteospermums belong to the daisy family (Asteraceae), hence their common names: African Daisy or South African Daisy, Cape Daisy and Blue-eyed Daisy.

They mustn't be confused with the annual Dimorphotheca. Although most commercial Osteospermum species are labelled as annuals they are in fact half-hardy perennials or subshrubs. This means they are not entirely hardy and will therefore not survive persistent frosts. However, they can be propagated by cuttings or overwintered in a frost free environment.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES

The Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus), also called sunroot, sunchoke, earth apple or topinambour, is a species of sunflower native to eastern North America, and found from eastern Canada and Maine west to North Dakota, and south to northern Florida and Texas. It is also cultivated widely across the temperate zone for its tuber, which is used as a root vegetable. Despite its name, the Jerusalem artichoke has no relation to Jerusalem, and it is not a type of artichoke. The origin of the name relates to Italian settlers in the USA, who called the plant "girasole", the Italian word for sunflower, because of its resemblance to the garden sunflower. Over time, the name "girasole" may have been changed to Jerusalem, while the tuber vaguely resembles the artichoke in taste.

Here it is, growing in our garden and it is proudly displaying its flowers, which are yellow and produced in capitate flowerheads, 5–10 centimetres in diameter, with 10–20 ray florets. The tubers are elongated and uneven, typically 7.5–10 centimetres long and 3–5 centimetres thick, and vaguely resembling ginger root, with a crisp texture when raw. The "artichoke" contains about 10% protein, no oil, and a surprising lack of starch. However, it is rich in the carbohydrate inulin (76%), which is a polymer of the monosaccharide fructose. Tubers that are stored for any length of time will digest its inulin into its component fructose.

Jerusalem artichokes have an underlying sweet taste because of the fructose, which is about one and a half times sweeter than sucrose. Jerusalem artichokes have also been promoted as a healthy choice for diabetics. The reason for this being the case is because fructose is better tolerated by people that are diabetic. It has also been reported as a folk remedy for diabetes. Temperature variances have been shown to affect the amount of inulin the Jerusalem artichoke can produce. When not in tropical regions, it has been shown to make less inulin than when it is in a warmer region.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme,

And also part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

CANARY ISLAND DAISY

Asteriscus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Asteriscus sericeus (Canary Island Daisy) shown here, is a species of Asteriscus native to the Canary Islands. It is a soft-wooded perennial that grows to about 1 m in height. It is a plant suited for informal edging, pot, groundcovers, border, soil binding purposes. It thrives in tropical, subtropical, mediterranean and coastal climates.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.