''Olearia avicenniifolia'', known commonly as mountain akeake, is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

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 ...

. It 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 New Zealand where it is found on the southern coastlines of the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

and on

Stewart Island Stewart Island ( mi, Rakiura, ' glowing skies', officially Stewart Island / Rakiura) is New Zealand's third-largest island, located south of the South Island, across the Foveaux Strait. It is a roughly triangular island with a total land ar ...

. It is classified as Not Threatened.

Description

Mountain akeake is a small, bushy shrub or tree that grows up to 6 metres tall and 3 metres wide. It has thin, papery bark and angular branchlets covered in white

tomentum Tomentum may refer to: * Plant trichomes, a covering of closely matted or fine hairs on plant leaves. * Tomentum (anatomy), short, soft pubescence or a covering of fine, soft hairs. {{disambig ...

. Leaves are oblong-lanceolate in shape. They are dark green in colour with a downy, white underside. Leaf length varies between 5–10 cm long and 3–5 cm wide. Flowers are clustered and daisy-like with white

rays Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gra ...

and purple central disks. They emerge between November and February and have a sweet scent. Flowers are about 5 centimetres wide and carried in clusters of three to ten. The flowers develop into fluffy seeds.

Taxonomy

It was first described in 1946 by Raoul as ''Shawia avicenniifolia'' and transferred to the ''

Olearia ''Olearia'', most commonly known as daisy-bush, is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Asteraceae, the largest of the flowering plant families in the world. Olearia are found in Australia, New Guinea and New Zealand. The genus i ...

'' genus by

Joseph Hooker Joseph Hooker (November 13, 1814 – October 31, 1879) was an American Civil War general for the Union, chiefly remembered for his decisive defeat by Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863. Hooker had serv ...

in 1864.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15592831 avicenniifolia Flora of New Zealand