Not everyone will recognize members of this genus as belonging to the Asteraceae. There are no showy ray flowers and the white or pink disc flowers are very small. The florets are, however, aggregated into globose or spike-like inflorescences that can be very showy en masse. In a recent revision, the genus was re-defined to include only the species with white or pink disc florets. Plants are erect, prostrate or scrambling, woody shrubs. Leaves are small, often ericoid and twisted and characterized by a woolly-hairy upper surface, a character that is unique to Stoebe and a group of related genera. This characteristic can be used to distinguish this group from species of Helichrysum which are very similar vegetatively. The leaves of Helichrysum are hairy all over or on the lower surface only. Flowerheads are 1-flowered, the florets white or pink, with 5 well-developed, spreading lobes protruding from the involucral bracts. The flowerheads are aggregated into round or spike-like inflorescences at the end of branches. Nectaries are present. Pappus bristles are plumose and present in all species except S. montana and S. schultzii. Although some species are quite rare and are fairly localized, they are not threatened or endangered.
Stoebe plumosa commonly known as Slangbos, Vaalbossie or Khoi-kooigoed in Afrikaans and synonymously known as Seriphium plumosum at first glance, appears to be a sprawling, much-branched, grey shrub. Looking closer, one notices that the slender, wiry branches are softly woody and at right angles to the stem. The short shoots are covered with whitish, woolly, clustered leaves, which are minute, tufted and pressed to the stem, giving the plant a granular appearance. In the wild there are different forms, varying in colour. The flowerheads are grouped in small clusters towards the ends of the main shoots, forming a spike-like inflorescence. Pale brown bracts surround the purple disc florets and give the spikes a golden appearance. Flowering is mainly in autumn/winter, from April to June, but also in spring.
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