Gerbera tomentosa Dc.

Acaulescent perennial. Leaves suberect or spreading, blade oblanceolate or elliptic to narrowly elliptic, 40-125(-150) x (11-)18-40(-95) mm, obtuse or acute, base cordate to cuneate, margins retrosely-serrate, doubly-serrate or ± sinuate, revolute or rarely plane, lobes rarely 2toothed and rarely decreasing in size basipetally, discolorous, upper surface glabrous or thinly whitish or yellowish-brownish felted, lower surface densely yellowish-brownish felted; petiole 25-60(-220), whitish-greyish or yellowish woolly, densely silky at base. Scapes bracteate, 150-260(-355) mm, glabrous or whitish-yellowish woolly, bracteate, bracts ±10, lanceolate, 5-11 mm long, whitish hairy. Capitula 40-60 mm diam. Involucre campanulate; bracts imbricate, ovate to lanceolate, 3-15 mm long, yellowish-brownish or golden-brownish woolly or felted with purple membranous margins. Ray florets 15-20, white to bright golden-yellow with reddish or purple under surface sometimes only distally, perianth tube 4-6 mm long, lower limb 20-25 mm long, upper limb 3.5-4.0 mm, staminodes present. Disc florets pale in colour, tube ± 6 mm long, lower limb 5 mm long, upper limb 2-3 mm long; anther appendages pale yellow. Cypselas not seen. Pappus bristles ±9 mm, whitish to whitish tawny. Populations on the Franschhoek and Drakenstein Mountains have bright yellow rays but those elsewhere are typically white to cream-coloured.