Mexican Sunflower
Large yellow-orange composite, but smaller than cultivated sunflower. Leaves variously three-lobed. Mostly herbaceous up to two meters tall. Garden favorite.
Aspilia
Composite with bright yellow notched rays, darker disc florets and few broad phyllaries. Common in crop fields after harvest.
Aspilia #2
Lower growing than previous, 3-5 dm. Leaves shorter, elliptic to triangular.
Yellow Composite
Bright yellow rays are toothed at the tip. Plant growing prostrate thus avoiding grazing animals.
African Bush Daisy
Bright yellow rays and bright yellow disc florets. Leaves are deeply, pinnately cleft into lance-shaped segments. Grows as an evergreen suffrutescent shrub.
Low-Growing Aster
Under grazing pressure this one grows very close to ground. Two + series of phyllaries with very long, slender, reddish tips. Seeds with many white awns.
Osteospermum
Heads become pendulous as ray flower seeds enlarge and broad wings develops on the achenes.
Fan-leaf #1
Small yellow composite from wooded area understory. Phyllaries smooth and nearly fused.
Fan-leaf #2
Very similar to #1 but leaves and stems with fine hairs and the head is shaped differently. Taita Hills.
Berkheya
Leaves and involucre with sharp prickles. Many, long, narrow, yellow ray flowers.
Prickly Sow Thistle
Yellow heads of entirely strap-shaped florets. Heads closed up in this view. Leaves prickly and white sap from breaks.
Purple Sow Thistle
Plants about 30cm tall and entirely herbaceous. The slender heads appear to open only part way at the tip. The base of the leaves clasp the stem.
Dandelion
Heads are composed entirely of yellow, strap-shaped floret. Leaves all basal. Seeds with plumose bristles.
Composite Vine
The leaves with their recurved lobes serve as grappling hooks as the plant climbs over other plants vine-like. Heads yellow, rayless
Giant Groundsel
Tree-size plants with large leaves found at higher elevation. Most conspicuous in high alpine areas. Old leaves and leaf-bases cloak the trunks.
Yellow Cudweed
The leaves and stems covered with cottony hairs. Heads yellow, rayless. Low herbaceous stems in cluster.
Golden Everlasting
This Helichrysum (?) composite was found growing on the Elgeyo Escarpment near Iten, Kenya. The leaves and stems appear silvery white due to a cover of short pubescence. About 1½ m tall.
Conyza stricta?
Numerous small, cream/yellow heads clustered at top of mostly herbaceous plant. Disc flowers yellowish and short papery white ray flowers. Involucre pubescent.
Conyza schimperi ?
The gray-green leaves are dissected into nearly linear segments. The heads are small, densely clustered at top and have only discs florets.
Conyza newii ?
Numerous bright yellow ray-less heads. Lance shaped leaves are irregularly toothed. Suffrutescent.
Goldenrod or Groundsel
Composite with yellow disc florets and no rays on many small heads. Smooth, elliptic leaves with distinct serrations.
Senecio
Slender flower heads with one series of phyllaries. Bright yellow florets followed by seeds with white fluff tops. Mostly herbaceous, 1m tall.
Senecio # 2
Herbaceous, weedy ragwort of moist soil. Rayless heads are enlarged below. Seeds with long, silky pappus.
Malta Star Thistle
Yellow florets emerge from the top of the spherical head which is well-armed. Weed in grazing areas and farms.
False Threadleaf
Another import from the New World. Small yellow-orange heads on herbaceous weed with finely dissected leaves.
Wild Lettuce
Milky juice emerges from broken stems like farm lettuce. Pale yellow florets on tall wiry stems.
Spanish Needles
Composite with white rays and yellow disc florets. Seeds with two barbed spurs. Common non-native weed in gardens.
Tarchonanthus (?)
Tree-sized member of sunflower family. Flowers white, in ray-less heads. Leaves elliptic and leathery.
Coat Buttons
This herbaceous plant in the Asteraceae was found growing in Nairobi. Short white rays, yellow disc and plumose hairs atop seeds.
Stinking Roger
Tall slender heads with a few white rays and yellow discs. Leaves compound and with resin glands.
Wavy-Leaf Fleabane
Composite with non-showy flowers in many small heads. Seeds soon shed with fuzzy top for wind dispersal. Soft hairs cover the leaves.
Parthenium
Numerous small convex heads of white florets set atop an herbaceous weed about 1 m tall.
African Wormwood
Numerous small heads in pendulous spikes. Leaves pinnately lobed. Tall shrub. Flower infrequently, perhaps once per year.
Laggera
Clusters of small pale lavender heads. Leaf blades continue down sides of stems making them look winged.
Billy-Goat Weed
Blue-violet heads of disc flowers. Leaves are deltoid with toothed margins. Common in gardens and hedgerows.
Vernonia #1
This Vernonia-like composite was found in a fresh water marshy area near Mombasa. The flowers are pale lavender.
Vernonia #3
All tubular flowers in heads are mostly white, tinged with purple. Broadly lanceolate to elliptic, serrated leaves. Mostly herbaceous.
Vernonia #2
Numerous, small heads of bright lavender-purple flowers are displayed in flat-topped panicles.
Vernonia
Large dia. heads with fine, white, bristle-topped seeds. Ridged stems. Rust-colored pubescence. Lance-shaped, serrated leaves.
White Vernonia
Shrubby, leafy plant about 1.5 meters tall. Numerous small white flower heads followed by abundance of comose seeds.
Vernonia
Many branching shrub or perennial with purple, pubescent phyllaries. Tubular disc flowers are lavender. Leaves alternate, serrate.
Eared Vernonia
Large shrub, occasionally tree-form with large clusters of purple/lavender flower heads. Leaf bases lobed. partly around the stem.
Ironweed
Nearly linear leaves are dark green and have a wrinkled texture. Seeds topped with light brown awns.
Trailing Composite
In an area of heavy grazing pressure this plant grows vine-like close to the ground.
Spear Thistle
Sharp spines guard the leaves and flower heads. Flowers are showy lavender-purple. Weed in grazing areas and farms.
Rosette Thistle
All leaves and even the large spiny flower heads grow close to the ground. The florets are pale lavender to purple. Seeds with long silky hairs.
Globe Thistle
Nearly spherical clusters of very small flower heads. Stems leafy wings. Ill-scented.
Odorous Senecio
Forms thickets of green, succulent stems. Flowers are cream-yellow and produce seeds with long awn-plumes.
Pink Ragwort
This weed with drooping flower heads is widespread in highland agricultural areas as near Kitale and Nandi. Seeds are topped with fine, capillary bristles.
Orange Ragwort
The leaves, stems and inflorescence are all fairly well clothed in soft hairs. Herbaceous, about 1m tall, in moist, partial shade.
Kleinia
A single series of waxy-smooth phyllaries subtend the long, 5-lobed disc flowers. Partially succulent.
Star Burrs
Obscure, green-white flower heads give rise to clusters of burrs with hooked spines.
Silver Oak
Tall forest tree with leaves silvery below and clusters of many small cream-colored flower heads.