Cassinia macrocephala subsp. petrapendula Orchard APNI* Description: Shrubs 1.0–2.0m tall; hairs on young stems dense, finely acicular, gland-tipped, under-layer of sparse to moderately dense cottony hairs and occasional subsessile globular hairs.
Mature leaves 25–55 mm long, 0.7–0.8 mm wide, with hairs on upper surface moderately dense, coarse, conical and usually not gland-tipped; hairs on undersurface of midrib similar, less dense with sparse cottony hairs; undersurface of lamina with sparse cottony, long fine gland-tipped hairs and subsessile globular hairs.
Flower heads with 5–7 florets.
Achene deep purple, 0.9 mm long, sparsely hairy.
Flowering: Flowers December and in January. Fruits January – March.
Distribution and occurrence: Restricted to a very small area near Hanging Rock, Nundle, and on the road to Barry, approximately 19 km south of Hanging Rock, in the North Western Slopes region of NSW. Found in deep red stony clay loam, on the margins of Pinus radiata plantations (1100m altitude), and in tall open Eucalyptus cypellocarpa / E. laevopinea forest with a very open understorey, including Joycea pallida, at c.750m altitude. It is found in association with occasional Cassinia leptocephala subsp. leptocephala, although that taxon is usually found at higher altitudes (1200–1250 m) in this area.
NSW subdivisions: NWS
This is a very rare and restricted subspecies, first found by Musson at Hanging Rock in 1890, and not rediscovered until early 2005.
Text by Louisa Murray
Taxon concept: Orchard (2006), Australian Systematic Botany 19: 183-191
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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