Olearia ballii

Olearia ballii, commonly known as the Mountain Daisy, is a shrub in the daisy family, Asteraceae. The specific epithet honours Lieutenant Henry Lidgbird Ball who, while commanding HMS Supply in 1788, discovered and named Lord Howe Island, where the plant was subsequently collected.[1]

Olearia ballii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Olearia
Species:
O. ballii
Binomial name
Olearia ballii

Description

The plant grows as a dense shrub up to 1.5 m in height. The leaves are small (5–12 mm long, 0.5–1.5 mm wide) and crowded on the stems. The flowers have 20–30 ray florets, 8 mm long, white with purple tips; there are about 40 disc florets, 4 mm long and purplish. The fruit is brown and ellipsoidal, 3 mm long.[1]

Distribution and habitat

The plant is endemic. to Australia’s subtropical Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea. It is found from an elevation of 400 m upwards to the tops of the mountains, where it is common.[1]

References
  1. "Olearia ballii". Flora of Australia Online: Data derived from Flora of Australia Volume 49 (1994). Australian Biological Resources Study (ABRS). Retrieved 2014-01-26.


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