NEW SOUTH WALES FLORA ONLINE

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Description: Ascending to erect perennial, to c. 35 cm high, often freely branched above base, occasionally simple. Stems densely cottony, glands present but usually obscured.

Leaves obovate to oblanceolate, 20–50 mm long, 3–12 mm wide, attenuate at base, ± concolorous or at least, not strongly discolorous, firm-textured; upper surface smooth, cottony, often densely so, lower surface cottony to densely woolly, with many glands, but these mostly obscured by indumentum; apex obtuse to acute, shortly mucronate (mucro 0.5–1 mm long); margins recurved, rarely flat.

Flower heads solitary, depressed-hemispherical, 18–30 mm diam. Involucral bracts in c. 7–10 rows, bright golden yellow to orange, transversely wrinkled, the intermediate ones oblanceolate to spathulate. Florets with corollas 4–5.5 mm long, the outer 2–4 rows of female-only florets.

Achenes narrowly cylindrical, 2–2.5 mm long, 4-ribbed, glabrous. Pappus subequal to or slightly exceeding corolla. Pappus of female florets complete or somewhat reduced centrifugally.

Habit Photo J. Miles

Flower Photo J. Miles

Other photo Photo J. Miles

Flowering: Flowers January to March.

Distribution and occurrence: Occurs through higher parts of the Great Dividing Range and adjacent outliers from near Braidwood, NSW, to Mt Buller and Mt Useful areas, Victoria. In Tasmania, it occurs in the north-east mountains (Mt Barrow, Ben Lomond), the Central Plateau area and on and near Mt Wellington near Hobart.

Grows at altitude from about 1000 metres, associated with montane forests of for example, Eucalyptus delegatensis, up to and beyond the treeline to c. 2100 m near the summit of Mt Kosciuszko. Soils are often gravelly or rocky and usually well-drained.
NSW subdivisions: ST
Other Australian states: Vic. Tas.

AVH map***

Widespread in montane to alpine areas through its range and well represented in national parks and other reserves. It is not regarded as rare or threatened.