creeping capeweed
(Arctotheca prostrata (Salisb.) Britten)

Overview

Appearance

A low-growing short-lived (i.e. annual) herbaceous plant with semi-flowering stems reaching up to 11.8 in. (30 cm) tall. Prior to flowering it is either stemless and forming a basal rosette, or has short creeping or sprawling stems.

Foliage

Its simple leaves are mostly basal and somewhat elongated in shape with toothed to deeply lobed margins. These leaves 2 to 10 in. (5-25 cm) long and 0.8 to 1.4 in. (2-6 cm) wide have hairless or slightly hairy (upper surfaces that are green in color and whitish, densely felty-hairy undersides.

Flowers

The petals 0.4 to 1 in. (1-2.5 cm) long are pale yellow with brighter yellow bases and greenish or purplish colored undersides. Flowering occurs mainly during late winter.

Fruit

The dark brown seeds are oblong in shape 0.08 to 0.1 in. (2-2.5 mm) long and densely covered in a brownish or pinkish colored fluffy wool. The top of the seed has a ring of 6-8 tiny scales.

Ecological Threat

Capeweed is a troublesome weed in pastures, crops and home gardens. In newly sown pastures it can smother grass and clover seedlings, and in drier regions it can often dominate overgrazed pastures. It can also taint milk and high nitrate levels in plants have caused livestock deaths.

Maps

Invasive Listing Sources

• California Invasive Plant Council