Olearia stuartii is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae and is endemic arid parts of inland Australia. It is compact, spreading shrub or undershrub with lance-shaped leaves and blue to mauve and yellow, daisy-like inflorescences.
| Olearia stuartii | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Genus: | Olearia |
| Species: | O. stuartii
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| Binomial name | |
| Olearia stuartii | |
| Synonyms | |
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Description
editOlearia stuartii is a compact, sticky, spreading shrub or subshrub that typically grows to a height of 0.25–1.0 m (9.8 in – 3 ft 3.4 in), the stems woody and covered with soft hairs. Its leaves are lance-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, mostly 4–28 mm (0.16–1.10 in) long, 2–6 mm (0.079–0.236 in) wide and sessile with 2 to 5 pairs of lobes on the edges. The heads or daisy-like "flowers" are arranged singly or in groups of up to four on the ends of branches and are pedunculate with a hemispherical involucre 5–6 mm (0.20–0.24 in) long at the base. Each head has 20 to 50 blue to mauve ray florets, the ligule 6–10 mm (0.24–0.39 in) long, surrounding 30 to 70 yellow disc florets. Flowering occurs from June to September and the fruit is a flattened achene about 3 mm (0.12 in) long, the pappus with 20 to 30 bristles 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) long.[2][3][4]
Taxonomy
editThis daisy was first formally described in 1859 by Ferdinand von Mueller who gave it the name Eurybia stuartii in Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae from specimens collected in western inland South Australia by John McDouall Stuart.[5][6] In 1867 George Bentham changed the name to Olearia stuartii in Flora Australiensis.[7] The specific epithet (stuartii) honours the collector of the type specimens.[8]
Distribution and habitat
editOlearia stuartii grows in woodland on rocky hills, on ranges, near cliffs and rocky creek beds in inland Western Australia, the south of the Northern Territory, the north-west of South Australia and inland Queensland.[2][3][9]
References
edit- ^ "Olearia stuartii". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
- ^ a b "Olearia stuartii". State Herbarium of South Australia. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
- ^ a b "Olearia stuartii". Northern Territory Government. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
- ^ "Olearia stuartii". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
- ^ "Eurybia stuartii". APNI. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
- ^ von Mueller, Ferdinand (1859). Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae. Melbourne: Victorian Government Printer. p. 202. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
- ^ "Olearia stuartii". APNI. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
- ^ Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 315. ISBN 9780958034180.
- ^ "Olearia stuartii". Atlas of Living Australia. Retrieved 6 August 2022.