''Olearia gordonii'' 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 inland southern Queensland. It is a small, erect, spreading shrub with linear leaves and blue, 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 gordonii'' is a shrub that typically grows to a height of up to . Its stems and leaves are covered with long, simple and glandular hairs. The leaves are arranged alternately along the branchlets, linear to narrowly elliptic, long and wide, the petiole winged and merged with the leaf blade. The heads or daisy-like "flowers" are arranged in loose groups on the ends of branchlets and are in diameter on a

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 ...

up to long. Each head has 13 to 33 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 ...

, the

ligule A ligule (from "strap", variant of ''lingula'', from ''lingua'' "tongue") is a thin outgrowth at the junction of leaf and leafstalk of many grasses (Poaceae) and sedges. A ligule is also a strap-shaped extension of the corolla, such as that of a ...

blue and long, surrounding 22 to 69 disc florets. Flowering occurs from January to July and the fruit is a flattened oval, light brown

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 ...

long, the pappus with 20 to 25 bristles.

Taxonomy

''Olearia gordonii'' was first formally described in 1989 by

Nicholas Sèan Lander Nicholas Lander is an Australian botanist. References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lander, Nicholas 1948 births Living people Botanists active in Australia 20th-century Australian botanists 21st-century Australian botanists ...

in the journal ''

Nuytsia ''Nuytsia floribunda'' is a hemiparasitic tree found in Western Australia. The species is known locally as moodjar and, more recently, the Christmas tree or Western Australian Christmas tree. The display of intensely bright flowers during the ...

'' from specimens collected on the Thronby Range between

Glenmorgan Glenmorgan is a rural town in the Western Downs Region and a locality split between the Western Downs Region and the Maranoa Region, Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of Glenmorgan had a population of 148 people. Geography The Town i ...

and

Surat Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is now ...

b
David Morrice Gordon
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 ...

(''gordonii'') honours the collector of the

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

specimens.

Distribution and habitat

''Olearia gordonii'' grows in forest dominated by ''

Acacia catenulata ''Acacia catenulata'', commonly known as bendee, is a tree belonging to the genus ''Acacia'' and the subgenus ''Juliflorae'' that is endemism, endemic to some arid areas in Australia. Description The tree typically grows to a height of with a ...

'' between Glenmorgan and

Augathella Augathella is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Murweh, Queensland, Australia. Geography Augathella lies on the Matilda Highway, is north of the town of Charleville, west of Roma and west of Brisbane (Queensland's capital). The to ...

in south-central Queensland.

Conservation status

This daisy bush is listed as of "least concern" under the Queensland Government ''

Nature Conservation Act 1992 The ''Nature Conservation Act 1992'' is an act of the Parliament of Queensland, Australia, that, together with subordinate legislation, provides for the legislative protection of Queensland's threatened biota. As originally published, it prov ...

''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15586133 gordonii Flora of Queensland Plants described in 1989