LIVINGSTONE DAISY
My back porch is large and sunny and has always been the perfect port of call for vacationing indoor plants, not to mention pots of herbs and a few containers of colorful summer-flowering specimens. This year those few pots have swelled into an ocean of flowering annuals, courtesy of my bloom-besotted daughter. At the moment, we still have room to walk from one side of the porch to the other, but just barely. If Kate discovers a few more interesting geranium varieties, we will be out of luck.
Amid all this floral bounty, the array of brightly colored succulent and semi-succulent daisy-like plants shines forth. Most hail from South Africa and arrived at our porch via local garden centers. The newest addition is Dorotheanthus bellidiformis, sometimes known as the “Livingstone daisy.”
My romantic soul hopes that the common name honors Dr. David Livingstone, the nineteenth century physician, missionary and explorer, best known today as the object of reporter Henry Morton Stanley’s query, “Dr. Livingston, I presume?” Stanley may never have said those exact words and Livingstone may never have gotten to the part of South Africa from which Dorotheanthus hails, but it is nice to think that the name is a tribute to a man who traveled so far and learned so much.
Dorotheanthus is a ground-hugging plant, growing only about six inches tall and spreading about 12 inches. Its tapered, oval-shaped leaves are succulent and rough, just over two inches long and less than half an inch wide. The flowers, which some writers have described as “iridescent,” are just less than two inches wide and produced in large numbers. Shaped like conventional daisies, the Livingstone daisies have numerous slender petals surrounding yellow centers. The petals can be shades of white, pink, red or orange and are often bi-colored with bright, white central “eye zones” ringing the centers. In their South African home, they attract butterflies and would probably do the same thing here.
For the longest time, similar looking plants with names like arctotis, delosperma, and osteospermum, have existed on the periphery of my horticultural consciousness. I was aware of them in garden centers, noted their names and moved on. I did not really see or appreciate them until my daughter started bringing them home to plant in container arrangements. All are hybrids of South African lineage, springing from a part of the African continent that is a cradle of biodiversity and one of the great treasure troves of plant material for the rest of the world. With a few notable exceptions, they are tender in cold winter climates. These comely South Africans look as if they should belong to the daisy or Compositae family, but some do not.
Arctotis x hybrida, is also known as “African daisy.” It often has a dark center, surrounded by brightly colored petals. The flowers may also have dark markings at the base of each petal. Arctotis is closely related to osteospermum. Both are members of the vast Compositae or daisy family, related to common garden perennials like coneflowers and Shasta daisies. Osteospermum also come in bright colors, sometimes with a contrasting color on the underside of every petal. Like many of the African daisies, osteospermum closes its petals in the rain.
Delosperma is not a true daisy, but a member of the Aizoaceae family like my daughter’s Dorotheanthus. Its flowers are somewhat smaller than those of its relative, but are also brightly colored. Both species are low growers, making them perfect as bedding or edging plants and lovely in containers. Sometimes known as “hardy ice plant,” Delosperma cooperi can survive year-round in cold winter climates. The purple-flowered form of this prostrate plant is probably the most common.
We have a single-flowered purple delosperma planted in the garden, draping its succulent stems seductively over a low wall. The raised setting gives it the good drainage it requires and I never have to worry about it. Our other South African daisies live on the porch and will be beautiful while they last. In just six weeks time, when my daughter goes off to grad school, I will take over their care and feeding.
If “Livingstone daisy” is an inspiring and evocative common name, “dorotheanthus” has its own sentimental association. First described by botanist Martin Heinrich Schwantes, the genus was named in honor of his mother, Dorothea. The affectionate tribute makes me wonder whether it was a reward to his mother for taking care of all of his plants when he was away from home.