Cassinia accipitrum Orchard APNI* Description: Erect shrub 1–2 m tall; bark on older branches reddish-purple, smooth, young twigs green to reddish-purple with sparse to dense cottony hairs with glandular hairs.
Leaves alternate, spreading, not decurrent, flat or margins becoming strongly revolute, drying to terete, 20–25 mm long, 1–3 mm wide; upper surface glabrous, glossy dark green, lower surface white midrib glabrous, felted cottony with subsessile glandular hairs on lamina.
Inflorescence a large rounded compound cyme of 50–300 flowerheads, yellow brown. Heads 3–5 mm long; involucral bracts c. 12–16, spirally arranged in 2–3 whorls, woody with only tip membranous , yellow brown. Florets 6 or 7 per head.
Achenes cylindrical 0.9–1.1 mm long, weakly 3- or 4-ribbed longitudinally, with dense appressed white twin hairs, 0.13 mm long; pappus persistent, 17–20 flattened bristles, densely barbellate, fused at the extreme base.
Flowering: Flowers in October and November.
Distribution and occurrence: Apparently confined to the valley of the Hawkesbury and Colo Rivers, from the coast near Cowan, Bobbin Head and Mount White inland to Colo Heights and Mountain Lagoon. Found in mixed Eucalyptus forest or remnant rainforest, on sandstone, from sea level to approximately 500 m altitude.
NSW subdivisions: CC
This species resembles C. straminea of the Border Ranges, but is distinguished by having leaves that are abruptly contracted at the tip into a distinct mucro, larger flowerhead with very woody involucral bracts, and more florets per flowerhead.
Text by Louisa Murray
Taxon concept: Orchard, A.E.(2004) A revision of Cassinia (Asteraceae : Gnaphalieae) in Australia. Section Leptocephalae. Australian Systematic Botany 17, 535-565.
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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