Wollemiaster
| Wollemiaster | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Genus: | Wollemiaster G.L.Nesom |
| Species: | W. cordatus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Wollemiaster cordatus (Lander) G.L.Nesom
| |
| Synonyms[1][2] | |
|
Olearia cordata Lander | |
Wollemiaster is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae.[3] It includes a single species, Wollemiaster cordatus (synonym Olearia cordata), which is endemic to New South Wales.[1] It is an aromatic slender shrub with mostly mauve to dark blue daisy-like flowers. Flowers appear in clusters at the end of branches, leaves are narrow and heart-shaped near the base.
Description
Wollemiaster cordatus is a shrub to 2 m (6.6 ft) high. The branchlets and leaves are thickly covered in hairs and glands that are sticky and rough. The leaves grow sparsely and alternately are 10–40 mm (0.39–1.6 in) long and 2–8 mm (0.079–0.31 in) wide and obscure veins. The leaves are narrowly egg-shaped becoming heart shaped near the base and tapering to either a sharp point or rounded. The leaf margin is entire with a rolled edge. The single flower head consists of a cluster of 10-18 mauve to dark blue daisy-like flowers are up 22–35 mm (0.87–1.4 in) in diameter on a peduncle 40 mm (1.6 in) long. The flower centre is yellow. The fruit is smooth with several long hairs. Flowers from November to February.[4][5][6]
Taxonomy and naming
Wollemiaster cordatus was first formally described by Nicholas Sèan Lander in 1975 and published in the journal Telopea.[7] The specific epithet (cordata) is derived from the Latin word cordatus meaning "heart-shaped".[8] In 2002 Cross et al. showed that Olearia as then described was polyphyletic, and in 2020 Guy L. Nesom described the new monotypic genus Wollemiaster to contain the species, renamed W. cordatus.[9]
Distribution and habitat
This species is endemic to New South Wales in sparsely scattered locations from Wisemans Ferry to Wollombi mostly in National Parks. Grows in open scrubland on sandstone ridges in dry sclerophyll forest.[5][6]
Conservation status
Wollemiaster cordatus (as Olearia cordata) is listed as "vulnerable" in New South Wales by the Office of Environment and Heritage and under the Australian Government EPBC Act.[6]
References
- ^ a b "Wollemiaster cordatus (Lander) G.L.Nesom". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
- ^ "Olearia cordata". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
- ^ "Wollemiaster G.L.Nesom". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
- ^ "Olearia cordata". NSW Threatened Species. NSW Office of Environment and Heritage. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
- ^ a b Lander, N.S. "Olearia cordata". New South Wales FloraOnline. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
- ^ a b c "Olearia cordata". Office of Environment & Heritage. NSW Government. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
- ^ Lander, Nicholas S. "Olearia cordata". APNI. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
- ^ Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 232.
- ^ Nesom, G.L. 2020. New genera from Australian Olearia (Asteraceae: Astereae). Phytoneuron 2020-65: 1–94. Published 19 August 2020. ISSN 2153 733X