Silverstem Purpledish

This short flower grows up to 1 inch (3 cm) tall. Its silver stems grow from the base of the plant in bunches of 8 and are very thin and straight, and split into several branching stems a quarter of the way up, and the small, gray leaves are dark grey on the underside and are perforated with toothed edges. Many leaves grow at the base of the stem, and a pair of leaves grow at the base of the flower head.

Two large flowers sit at the end of the stem. The flowers are 1 cm (0.4 inches) wide, with bold purple petals and a yellow center. The flower head is shaped like a dish with 55 widely spaced, narrow petals. They fall easily.

It has a fairly strong scent that smells like fish, and it has very little pollen. It is a self-pollinator, but is also visited by some specific types of insect.