Celmisia incana
| Celmisia incana | |
|---|---|
 | |
| White mountain daisies | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Embryophytes |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Genus: | Celmisia |
| Species: | C. incana |
| Binomial name | |
| Celmisia incana | |
Celmisia incana, commonly known as white mountain daisy,[1] is a species of perennial alpine plant of the family Asteraceae, and is native to New Zealand.
Description
Celmisia incana is a perennial plant with stout woody stems up to about 100 mm (3.9 in) in diameter, with leathery, egg-shaped to oblong leaves 20–40 mm (0.79–1.57 in) long and 10–15 mm (0.39–0.59 in) wide on a petiole up to 5 mm (0.20 in) wide, arranged in close rosettes. The leaves are densely covered with woolly white hairs pressed against the surface. The flowers are borne on a slender scape up to 120 mm (4.7 in) long and densely covered with woolly hairs. The heads or daisy-like "flowers" are 25–35 mm (0.98–1.38 in) in diameter with many linear to tapering involucral bracts 10–15 mm (0.39–0.59 in) long at the base. Each head has narrow white ray florets, up to about 12 mm (0.47 in) long, surrounding funnel shaped disc florets 7–8 mm (0.28–0.31 in) long. Flowering occurs from September to March and the fruit is a flattened cylindrical achene 3.0–3.5 mm (0.12–0.14 in) long with narrowly triangular teeth, the pappus white 7–8 mm (0.28–0.31 in) long with minute barbed hairs.[1][2]
Taxonomy
Celmisia incana was first formally described by Joseph Dalton Hooker in "The Botany of the Antarctic Voyage of H.M. Discovery Ships Erebus and Terror".[3]" from specimens collected by Georg Forster in Dusky Bay.[3] The specific epithet (incana) means 'grey' or 'hoary'.[4]
Distribution and habitat
White mountain daisy grows in montane to alpine grassland from the Moehau Range on the Coromandel Peninsula of the North Island to Otago on the South Island of New Zealand.[1][2]
References
- 1 2 3 "Celmisia incana". New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
- 1 2 "Celmisia incana". Landcare Research Manaaki Whenua. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
- 1 2 Hooker, Joseph Dalton (1844). The Botany of the Antarctic Voyage of H.M. Discovery Ships Erebus and Terror. London: Reeve Brothers. p. 36. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
- ↑ George, Alex S.; Sharr, Francis A. (2023). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings - A Glossary (fifth ed.). Kardinya: Four Gables Press. p. 228. ISBN 9780645629538.