Olearia pinifolia is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...

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 to

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. It is a shrub with rigid, linear, sharply-pointed leaves and white and yellow, daisy-like

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed ...

Description

''Olearia pinifolia'' is a rigid, bushy shrub that typically grows to a height of and has stout, woolly-hairy branches. The leaves are arranged alternately along the branches, crowded, narrowly linear and long. The leaves are rigid and sharply-pointed with the edges rolled under, giving the plant a pine-like appearance. They are

glabrous Glabrousness (from the Latin '' glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part o ...

on the upper surface and silky-hairy on the obsured lower surface. The heads or daisy-like "flowers" are mostly arranged singly on the end of a long

peduncle Peduncle may refer to: *Peduncle (botany), a stalk supporting an inflorescence, which is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed *Peduncle (anatomy), a stem, through which a mass of tissue is attached to a body **Peduncle (art ...

and have a top-shaped

involucre 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, or o ...

. Each "flower" has 8 to 10 white

ray florets 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 we ...

surrounding a larger number of yellow disc florets. The

achene 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 ...

s are long, narrow and smooth, the pappus with bristles in several rows.

Taxonomy

This daisy was first formally described in 1847 by

Joseph Dalton Hooker Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (30 June 1817 – 10 December 1911) was a British botanist and explorer in the 19th century. He was a founder of geographical botany and Charles Darwin's closest friend. For twenty years he served as director of ...

who gave it the name ''Eurybia pinifolia'' in the ''London Journal of Botany'' from specimens collected by

Ronald Campbell Gunn Ronald Campbell Gunn, FRS, (4 April 1808 – 13 March 1881) was a South African-born Australian botanist and politician. Early life Gunn was born at Cape Town, Cape Colony, (now South Africa), the son of William Gunn, lieutenant in the 72 ...

. In 1867, George Bentham changed the name to ''Olearia pinifolia'' in ''

Flora Australiensis ''Flora Australiensis: a description of the plants of the Australian Territory'', more commonly referred to as ''Flora Australiensis'', and also known by its standard abbreviation ''Fl. Austral.'', is a seven-volume flora of Australia published b ...

''. 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 ...

(''pinifolia'') means "pine-leaved".

Distribution and habitat

''Olearia pinifolia'' is common in alpine or subalpine regions of Tasmania, including on

Mount Wellington Mount Wellington may refer to: Mountains * Mount Wellington (British Columbia), in Canada * Mount Wellington (New York), in Otsego County, New York, United States * Mount Wellington (Tasmania), in Tasmania, Australia * Mount Wellington (Victoria) ...

Mount Dundas Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, ...

Mount Sorell Mount Sorell is a mountain located in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia. With an elevation of above sea level, the mountain is the most south westerly of all the peaks within the West Coast Range. History The mountain was named ...

and Mount Field.

Ecology

This species is known to be resistant to ''

Phytophthora cinnamomi ''Phytophthora cinnamomi'' is a soil-borne water mould that produces an infection which causes a condition in plants variously called " root rot", "dieback", or (in certain ''Castanea'' species), "ink disease". The plant pathogen is one of the w ...

'' which can cause root rot. It may be susceptible to

mealybug Mealybugs are insects in the family Pseudococcidae, unarmored scale insects found in moist, warm habitats. Many species are considered pests as they feed on plant juices of greenhouse plants, house plants and subtropical trees and also act as a ...

which feed on the juices of the plant, and may carry other diseases.

Use in horticulture

Seeds can be collected from seeding ''Olearia pinifolia'' in the late summer to early autumn (January-March), when the plant releases the fluffy, white achenes. These can be collected and dried, and if sowed within a short time in a surface layer of loamy, low-phosphorus soil, can yield young ''O. pinifolia'' seedlings. Best sowing months in Tasmania are March-April and October-November, when conditions are mild and frosts rare. Germination occurs in two to five weeks after planting. Plants may also be propagated from cuttings taken from healthy, young specimens.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15587399 Asterales of Australia Flora of Tasmania pinifolia Plants described in 1847 Taxa named by Joseph Dalton Hooker