So this afternoon Cassie and I arrive home from a trip to Yarnell (about which later, in a less tireder moment) to find this interesting flower growing on a weed that volunteered in the vegetable garden:
Does anybody have any idea what this critter is? Click on the image for a larger view.
Four of these plants popped up in the garden, arriving from where, no one knows. (Probably via bird droppings, one expects.) They had a suspiciously cultivated look to them, so out of idle curiosity, I decided to resist the impulse to extirpate them. Whatever they are, they have a pretty flower.
Looks a little like a gazania, ’cept for the leaves, which are most ungazania-ish.
Here’s what the whole plant looks like:
It’s about 15 inches tall. Whatever it is doesn’t seem to mind downright extraterrestrial climates: the temps have hovered around 110 degrees here for the past week, occasionally rising to 115.
Here’s another attempt at a photograph, which, when clicked upon, does give you a nice blow-up:
Whaaa????
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
It looks like a Gerbera Daisy. They are originally African natives and can take the climate here.
@ Patty: That’s a likely possibility. We call them African daisies in this part of town–neighbors like to broadcast seeds over their desert landscaping in the spring. One guy a couple houses down has a spectacular display in April & May. Cassie likes to stroll through them. She could have picked up some seeds on her feet or in her fur, whence they could have dropped into the backyard garden.
It’s quite late for them, though; by now these plants have blown their seeds, dried up, and died. The leaves are slightly different, too…tho’ certainly similar enough that it could be a varietal difference.
That was my guess, too, but it looks small for a Gerber daisy. Their flowers are usually 3-4″ across.
I agree it’s a type of African/Gerbera daisy (Gerbera jamesonii). There are dwarf varieties & the leaves are right on with this photo: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/1694/
Maybe a crassula? I just saw something similar in the local newspaper.