''Olearia lirata'', commonly known as snowy daisy-bush, is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the family

Asteraceae Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...

and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a shrub with lance-shaped leaves and white and cream-coloured to yellow, daisy-like

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

Description

''Olearia lirata'' is a shrub that typically grows to a height of up to and has greyish branchlets. Its leaves are arranged alternately along the branchlets, lance-shaped, long, wide and petiolate, the edges of the leaves sometimes wavy or toothed. The heads or daisy-like "flowers" are arranged in loose groups on the ends of branches on a peduncle long and are in diameter. Each head has three to four rows of

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also lo ...

s forming a hemispherical

involucre In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also look ...

long and ten to sixteen white ray

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 ...

, the

ligule A ligule (from "strap", variant of ''lingula'', from ''lingua'' "tongue") is a thin outgrowth at the junction of leaf A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the plant stem, stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above g ...

long, surrounding nine to fourteen cream-coloured to yellow disc florets. Flowering occurs from August to January and the fruit is a ribbed

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple fruit, simple dry fruits, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and Dehi ...

long, the pappus long.

Taxonomy

This species was first formally described in 1812 by John Sims who gave it the name ''Aster liratus'' in '' The Botanical Magazine'' from specimens grown in " Knight's exotic nursery". In 1917, John Hutchinson changed the name to ''Olearia lirata'' in ''

The Gardeners' Chronicle ''The Gardeners' Chronicle'' was a British horticulture periodical. It lasted as a title in its own right for nearly 150 years and is still extant as part of the magazine '' Horticulture Week''. History Founded in 1841 by the horticulturists Jose ...

''. The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

(''lirata'') means "possessing furrows".

Distribution and habitat

''Olearia lirata'' grows in moist forest and scrub on the coast and tablelands of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, in eastern Victoria to as far west as the Otway Range, and is widespread and common in Tasmania.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7085999 lirata Asterales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Tasmania Flora of Victoria (state) Flora of the Australian Capital Territory Plants described in 1812 Taxa named by John Sims (taxonomist)