''Olearia oppositifolia'' 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 a shrub with egg-shaped to elliptic leaves arranged in opposite pairs, and white and yellow daisy flowers.

Description

''Olearia oppositifolia'' is a shrub with erect stems that typically grows to a height of up to . The leaves are mostly arranged in opposite pairs, egg-shaped to elliptic, long and wide, green on the upper surface and pale brown, covered with greyish hairs on the lower surface. The heads or daisy-like "flowers" are arranged in corymbs wide 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 near the ends of branches. Each head has four to six white ray florets and six to eleven yellow disc florets. Flowering occurs from November to January and the

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 ...

s are more or less glabrous, the pappus with 44 to 74 bristles.

Taxonomy and naming

This olearia was first formally described in 1860 by

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vict ...

in '' Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae'' and given the name ''Eurybia oppositifolia''. In 1991, Nicholas Lander changed the name to ''Olearia oppositifolia'' in the journal ''Telopea''.

Distribution and habitat

''Olearia oppositifolia'' grows in forest and rainforest margins on the ranges between the

Border Ranges National Park The Border Ranges National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. A small portion of the national park is also located in South East Queensland. The park is situated approxi ...

in south-eastern Queensland and

Barrington Tops National Park The Barrington Tops National Park is a protected national park located in the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, Australia. Gazetted in 1969, the park is situated between Scone, Singleton, Dungog, Gloucester and East Gresford. The park is part ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15588044 oppositifolia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Plants described in 1860 Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller