| Purple burr-daisy | |
|---|---|
| |
| At Rookwood, Australia | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Genus: | Calotis |
| Species: | C. cuneifolia |
| Binomial name | |
| Calotis cuneifolia R.Br. | |
Calotis cuneifolia commonly known as purple burr-daisy, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae found in many parts of eastern and central Australia. It has purple, white or blue daisy-like flowers with variable shaped leaves.
Description
Calotis cuneifolia is a small perennial upright or prostrate herb to 25–60 cm (9.8–23.6 in) high and covered with rigid hairs. The basal leaves more or less woody, soon withering, upper leaves wedge to spoon-shaped, lobed near the apex, 8–40 mm (0.31–1.57 in) long, 5–20 mm (0.20–0.79 in) wide, simple, sessile, occasional hairs and arranged alternately. The blue, white or purple flower heads 6–20 mm (0.24–0.79 in) in diameter, single or in two or three cymes on slender stems with a yellow disc. Flowering occurs mostly from September to December and the fruit is a flattened cypsela covered with barbed spines.
Taxonomy and naming
Calotis cuneifolia was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown and the description was published in The Botanical Register: Consisting of Coloured Figures of Exotic Plants, Cultivated in British Gardens; with their History and Mode of Treatment. The type specimen was collected by Allan Cunningham on the banks of the Lachlan River in 1817. The specific epithet "cuneifolia" refers to the wedged shape leaves.
Distribution and habitat
Purple burr-daisy grows in grassland and forests in a variety of soils in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and the Northern Territory.
References
- "Calotis cuneifolia". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- Everett, J. "Calotis cuneifolia". PlantNET-NSW Flora online. Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- "Calotis cuneifolia (Australian wedgeleaf): Go Botany". gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
- Brown, Robert (1810). "Calotis cuneifolia". Consisting of Coloured Figures of Exotic Plants, Cultivated in British Gardens; with their History and Mode of Treatment. 6: 504. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
- "Calotis cuneifolia R.Br. ". Vascular Plants Australian Plant Name Index (APNI). Retrieved 17 September 2021.
- Les Robinson - Field Guide to the Native Plants of Sydney, ISBN 978-0-7318-1211-0 page 132
- Fairley, Alan; Moore, Philip (2010). Native Plants of the Sydney Region. Jacana Books. p. 124. ISBN 978-1-74175-571-8.
 | This Astereae article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |