''Olearia flocktoniae'', commonly known as Dorrigo daisy bush, 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 a restricted area of New South Wales. It is a shrub with crowded, linear 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 o ...

Description

''Olearia flocktoniae'' is a short-lived shrub that typically grows to a height of up to . Its leaves are arranged alternately along the branchlets, crowded, soft and linear, long, wide and more or less

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 ...

. The edges of the leaves are rolled under and both surfaces are covered with soft hairs. The heads or daisy-like "flowers" are arranged in

corymb Corymb is a botanical term for an inflorescence with the flowers growing in such a fashion that the outermost are borne on longer pedicels than the inner, bringing all flowers up to a common level. A corymb has a flattish top with a superficial re ...

s near the ends of branchlets and are in diameter on a peduncle up to long. Each head has 30 to 48 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 o ...

, often tinged with violet, surrounding 39 to 49 yellow disc florets. Flowering occurs in February and March and the fruit is a silky-hairy

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 ope ...

, the pappus with 36 to 47 bristles.

Taxonomy

''Olearia flocktoniae'' was first formally described in 1909 by

Joseph Maiden Joseph Henry Maiden (25 April 1859 – 16 November 1925) was a botanist who made a major contribution to knowledge of the Australian flora, especially the genus ''Eucalyptus''. This botanist is denoted by the author abbreviation when citing ...

and

Ernst Betche Daniel Ludwig Ernst Betche (31 December 1851, in Potsdam – 28 June 1913, in Sydney) was a German-Australian horticulturist and botanist. His mother died at his birth and he was of delicate constitution all his life. His father was sufficiently ...

from specimens collected b
John Luke Boorman
from near Dorrigo in the same year. 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 ...

(''flocktoniae'') honours

Margaret Flockton Margaret Lilian Flockton (29 September 1861 Sussex – 12 August 1953 Sydney), is most commonly recognized as a botanical artist famous for her botanical illustrations of ''"The Forest Flora of New South Wales"'' (some 300 plates), ''"A Criti ...

Distribution and habitat

Dorrigo daisy bush grows in disturbed sites in wet forest and rainforest on the northern edge of the

Dorrigo Plateau The Dorrigo Plateau is a plateau in the Northern Tablelands and New England regions of New South Wales, Australia. The plateau forms part of the Great Dividing Range and is sometimes referred to as the Dorrigo and Guy Fawkes Plateau. The highes ...

in northern New South Wales.

Conservation status

''Olearia flocktoniae'' is listed as "endangered" under the Australian Government ''

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cultu ...

'' and the New South Wales Government '' Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016''. The main threats to the species include habitat change, vehicle damage, and road maintenance.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15587462 flocktoniae Asterales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Plants described in 1909 Taxa named by Joseph Maiden