Olearia arida is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae and is endemic to inland western Australia. It is upright shrub with spreading branches and clusters of white flowers.
| Olearia arida | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Genus: | Olearia |
| Species: | O. arida
|
| Binomial name | |
| Olearia arida | |
Description
editOlearia arida is an upright shrub with a single woody stem or a spreading habit 0.3–2 m (0.98–6.6 ft) high covered densely with flattened short soft matted hairs. The sessile leaves are long and narrow 7–20 mm (0.28–0.79 in) long and 1–2.5 mm (0.039–0.098 in) wide, broadening to a rounded apex. The upper-side of leaves are smooth and sticky, the under-side a woolly white with an obvious mid-vein with a rolled edge and glands. The cluster of 10-15 white flowers are on a short stem in leaf axils. The flower bracts are arranged in 3 rows, bell-shaped, smooth, pale, sticky, often purplish and broader at the apex and about 5 mm (0.20 in) long. The flower centre is yellow, blooms appear from July to September. The smooth, dry one-seeded needle-shaped fruit are about 2 mm (0.079 in) long with fine longitudinal lines.[2][3]
Taxonomy and naming
editOlearia arida was described in 1918 by Ernst Pritzel and published in Repertorium Specierum Novarum Regni Vegetabilis.[1] The specific epithet (arida) is derived from the Latin word aridus meaning "dry".[4]
Distribution and habitat
editThis species grows on sand hills in the Coolgardie, Great Victoria Desert and Murchison biogeographic regions of Western Australia, in the far north-west of South Australia and the far south-west of the Northern Territory.[2][3][5]
Conservation status
editThis daisy is listed as "Priority Four" in Western Australia, by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions,[3] meaning that it is rare or near threatened.[6]
References
edit- ^ a b "Olearia arida". APC. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
- ^ a b "Olearia arida". eFloraSA. Department of Water & Environment, South Australia. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
- ^ a b c "Olearia arida". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
- ^ Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 100.
- ^ "Olearia arida". Northern Territory Government. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
- ^ "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 26 February 2022.