''Ammobium alatum'', commonly known as the winged everlasting, is a species of

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

in the daisy 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 w ...

and is both a native and an introduced species in south-eastern Australia. It has prominently winged stems, most of its leaves at the base, and heads of yellow florets surrounding by papery, white involucral bracts.

Description

''Ammobium alatum'' is a species of perennial herb, occasional an

annual Annual may refer to: * Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year **Yearbook ** Literary annual * Annual plant * Annual report * Annual giving * Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco * Annuals (b ...

, that typically grows to a height of with winged, woolly-hairy, usually much-branched stems. Most of its leaves are at the base of the plant and are narrow egg-shaped to narrow triangular. The basal leaves are long and wide on a petiole long. There are a few

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

bract 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 of ...

-like leaves on the stems. The flowers are wide with bright yellow florets that become darker with age, the corolla about long. The florets are surrounded by papery, white involucral bracts long with jagged edges. Flowering mainly occurs from November to April and the cypselas are linear, wrinkled and dark brown with an

awn AWN may stand for: * Awn Access to Justice Network in Gaza Strip, Legal Aid Network operate in Gaza Strip, Palestine * Animation World Network, an online organization for animators * Avant Window Navigator, a dock-like bar that tracks open windows ...

up to long.

Taxonomy and naming

The genus ''Ammobium'' and ''Ammobium alatum'' were first described in 1824 Robert Brown in '' Curtis Botanical Magazine''. The name ''

Ammobium ''Ammobium'' is genus of perennial Asteraceae species described as a genus in 1824 by Robert Brown, with the type species being '' Ammobium alatum''. ''Ammobium'' is native to eastern Australia. ;Species *'' Ammobium alatum'' R.Br. - New Sou ...

'' is from the Greek words, ''ammos'' ("sand") and ''bios'' (" life"), describing the genus as growing in sand,Backer, C.A. (1936
''Verklarend woordenboek der wetenschappelijke namen van de in Nederland en Nederlandsch-Indië in het wild groeiende en in tuinen en parken gekweekte varens en hoogere planten'' (Edition Nicoline van der Sijs).
p.90 (Explanatory dictionary of the scientific names of .. plants grown in the Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies...) and 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 ...

''alatum'' is from the Latin ''alatus'' meaning "winged" in reference to its winged stems.

Distribution and habitat

The winged everlasting often grows in disturbed environments such as on roadsides and agricultural land, and sometimes on riverbanks where the seeds have been carried from disturbed areas. Records of this species in natural habitats are from

eucalypt Eucalypt is a descriptive name for woody plants with capsule fruiting bodies belonging to seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australasia: ''Eucalyptus'', '' Corymbia'', '' Angophora'', ''Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...

forests in plateau and rocky cliffs in northern New South Wales, from river banks in the upper

Snowy River The Snowy River is a major river in south-eastern Australia. It originates on the slopes of Mount Kosciuszko, Australia's highest mainland peak, draining the eastern slopes of the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales, before flowing through the ...

in Victoria, from the

Northern Tablelands The Northern Tablelands, also known as the New England Tableland, is a plateau and a region of the Great Dividing Range in northern New South Wales, Australia. It includes the New England Range, the narrow highlands area of the New England regio ...

and

North West Slopes The North West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia, refers generally to the area west of the Northern Tablelands, to the north of the Central West region and to the east of the Far West region. Despite its name, the region is in north- ...

of New South Wales and from south-east Queensland. Robert Brown found it "growing plentifully near the shores of Port Hunter (or the Coal River) in New South Wales" in 1804. The species is

naturalised Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the i ...

in South Australia, The Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania, and in places outside its natural distribution in New South Wales.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2001235 Gnaphalieae Asterales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of Tasmania Flora of South Australia Flora of Victoria (Australia) Plants described in 1824 Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)