''Cassinia straminea'' 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 w ...

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 elsew ...

to eastern Australia. It is an erect shrub with hairy young stems, linear leaves and corymbs of up to several hundred flower heads.

Description

''Cassinia straminea'' is an erect shrub that typically grows to a height of with its young stems straw-coloured to reddish-brown and densely covered with cottony hairs. The leaves are linear, long and wide. The upper surface of the leaves is glabrous, the edges are rolled under and the lower surface is densely covered with cottony hairs. The flower heads are long on a

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

long, each head with four to six yellow

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 about 12 overlapping involucral bracts. Up to several hundred heads are arranged in each corymb. Flowering occurs from October to February and the achenes are about long with a pappus of 18 to 21 bristles.

Taxonomy and naming

This species was first formally described in 1867 by George Bentham who gave it the name ''Cassinia longifolia'' var. ''straminea'' in '' Flora Australiensis''. In 2004, Anthony Edward Orchard raised the variety to species status as ''Cassinia straminea'' in '' Australian Systematic Botany''.

Distribution

''Cassinia straminea'' grows in forest and on the edges of rainforest on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales and in south-east Queensland.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15561341 straminea Asterales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Taxa named by George Bentham Plants described in 1867