Smelter’s bush

Smelter’s bush

Flaveria bidentis

Common Name:

Smelter’s bush

Scientific Name:

Flaveria bidentis


Alternative common names:

 Smeltersbossie (Afrikaans), smelter’s bush, yellow tops, coastal plain.

Description:

Smelter's bush is a semi-herbaceous annual up to 1m high, bearing yellow flowers in summer. 

Additional Information


Where does this species come from?

Asia, Africa and Australia.

What is its invasive status in South Africa?

NEMBA Category 1b.

Where in South Africa is it a problem?

Mpumalanga, Gauteng, Kwa-Zulu Natal, Limpopo, North West.

How does it spread?

Seeds are spread by water, wind, vehicles and people.

Why is it a problem?

It invades roadsides, rail sides, cultivated lands, waste grounds and riverbanks.

What does it look like?

Leaves: Leaves are bluish-green, opposite, sessile to shortly stalked, linear to lance-shaped, margins finely serrated, prominently three-veined from the base.

Flowers: Flowers are yellow; the central flowers are tubular, 4-6mm long. The corolla is bright yellow, 2.3mm and the tube is 0.8mm. Flowers are five to 15 pieces. It flowers in summer.

Fruit/seeds: Fruit is an achene of about 3mm long. Achenes are black, little, flat and oblanceolate or nearly rod-like with no pappus.

Does the plant have any uses?

Leave a Reply