''Cassinia laevis'', commonly known as cough bush, dead finish, curry bush or rosemary bush, is a species of flowering plant in the family

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae ...

and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

to south-eastern continental Australia. It is a shrub with a curry-like odour, crowded linear leaves, and heads of creamy-white flowers arranged in

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is ...

Description

''Cassinia laevis'' is a shrub that typically grows to a height of , has erect, densely branched stems and a curry-like odour. The leaves are crowded, linear, long and about wide. The upper surface of the leaves is shiny but the lower surface has fine hairs although obscured by the rolled edges of the leaf. The flower heads are long and wide, arranged in pyramid-shaped panicles in diameter, each head with two to four creamy-white

florets This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

surrounded by

involucral bracts In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, ...

in four or five whorls. Flowering occurs spring and autumn and the

achenes An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not op ...

are about long with a pappus about long.

Taxonomy

''Cassinia laevis'' was first formally described in 1818 by Robert Brown in the ''

Transactions of the Linnean Society of London The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature coll ...

''. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''aculeata'') means "smooth".

Distribution and habitat

''Cassinia laevis'' is widespread in Queensland, New South Wales and eastern South Australia. There are also records from the Northern Territory. It grows in a wide variety of habitats, often on stony ridges and often in mallee.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15559963 laevis Asterales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of South Australia Flora of Queensland Flora of the Northern Territory Plants described in 1818 Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)