Berkheya rigida bears many discoid flowerheads on lateral stems from spring to after midsummer.

The plants tend to invade on neglected land. In Australia it is known as the African thistle, established there since the end of the 19th century and progressed to noxious weed status in pastureland of several regions (Curtis-Scott, et al, 2020; Manning, 2007; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist; https://weedsofmelbourne.org; https://keyserver.lucidcentral.org).