In southern Africa Gazania is known as a garden plant with particularly showy flowers that requires little watering. Gazania is a southern African genus with about 20 species. In 1921 the first official botanist of the then South West Africa, Kurt Dinter, described Gazania thermalis from a plant that he found at Gross Barmen and cultivated in Okahandja until it flowered. He called this species "thermalis" because he found it at the thermal springs. A specimen of this plant is lodged with the herbarium of the South African Museum (now part of the South African Biodiversity Institute, Kirstenbosch, South Africa). Unfortunately Dinter did not put a date onto this specimen and it is not clear when exactly he discovered this plant at Gross Barmen. It must have been before 1921. During following years this species was never re-collected at Gross Barmen and during a thorough search in 2013 it could not be found there again.