Cassinia longifolia, commonly known as shiny cassinia,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is an erect, aromatic shrub with sticky, hairy foliage, linear or oblong to narrow lance-shaped leaves, and heads of creamy-white flowers arranged in a dense corymb.

Shiny cassinia
Cassinia longifolia on Black Mountain
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Cassinia
Species:
C. longifolia
Binomial name
Cassinia longifolia

Description

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Cassinia longifolia is an erect, aromatic shrub that typically grows to a height of 1.2–2.5 m (3 ft 11 in – 8 ft 2 in), its foliage covered with short, glandular hairs and sticky. The leaves are linear or oblong to narrow lance-shaped, 15–95 mm (0.59–3.74 in) long and 2–6 mm (0.079–0.236 in) wide on a petiole 0.5–1 mm (0.020–0.039 in) long. The upper surface of the leaves is glabrous, the edges curve downwards and the lower surface is covered with fine hairs. The flower heads are 2–3 mm (0.079–0.118 in) long and 1.0–1.5 mm (0.039–0.059 in) wide, each with five or six creamy-white florets surrounded by three to five overlapping rows of egg-shaped involucral bracts. The heads are arranged in a dense corymb up to 200 mm (7.9 in) in diameter. Flowering occurs in summer and autumn and the achenes are about 0.8 mm (0.031 in) long with a pappus 2–3 mm (0.079–0.118 in) long.[2][3]

Taxonomy and naming

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Cassinia longifolia was first formally described in 1818 by Robert Brown in the Transactions of the Linnean Society of London.[4][5] The specific epithet (longifolia) means "long-leaved".[6]

Distribution and habitat

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Shiny cassinia grows in forest and disturbed places, especially after fire, and often on ridges. It occurs in south-eastern New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and is widespread and common in eastern Victoria.[2][3]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Cassinia longifolia". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "Cassinia longifolia". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Cassinia longifolia". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  4. ^ "Cassinia longifolia". Australian Plant Name Index. 19 June 2021.
  5. ^ Brown, Robert (1818). "Observations on the natural family of plants called Compositae". Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. 12 (1): 127. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  6. ^ Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 242. ISBN 9780958034180.