Short-leaf Daisy-bush
After Seeding
Ellura
Crinkle-leaf Daisy-bush
Structure
 
                      
Crinkle-leaf Daisy-bush (Olearia calcarea)Class: Plants (Plantae) - Land Plants (Charophyta) - Land Plants (Equisetopsida)
Order: Sunflowers (Asterales)
Family: Daisy (Asteraceae)     iNaturalist Observation
Species: Crinkle-leaf Daisy-bush (Olearia calcarea)
This Photo:     Whole
Other name: Limestone Daisy-bush

General Species Information:
Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA) and elsewhere
Marie really out-did herself to find this one. She has amazing pattern recognition abilities.
We walked past a couple of these bushes and she asked what they were. I said "O. muelleri". She said "No, it's different". I took a slightly closer look and said "Oh, O. magniflora". "No, it's not that either."
I then took a really long look and said "I have no idea; you've done it again. How do you do that ?" Of course as soon as she asked what it was I instinctively knew something was up, 'cause she knows O. muelleri & O. magniflora like the back of her hand.
It is said that O. calcarea is a natural cross between O. muelleri & O. magniflora. And we can certainly see why.
The two specimens we've found on Ellura have quite different buds. One has large green buds, the other small copper highlighted buds. But the rest of the bush looks the same. One suspects one being in a small clearing on it's own, and the other at the base of a small mallee tree is the reason.

Similar Species: Mueller's Daisy-bush (Olearia muelleri)

Copyright © 2014-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 03-Jul-2014
This species is classed as RA (Rare) in the Murray Mallee, SA, by DENR (Regional Species Status Assessments, July 2010)