| Small snow daisy | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Genus: | Celmisia |
| Species: | C. saxifraga |
| Binomial name | |
| Celmisia saxifraga | |
Celmisia saxifraga, commonly known as the small snow daisy, is a perennial herb in the Asteraceae family. It is native to Tasmania and Victoria, where it grows in alpine grasslands above the snowline. [3]
Like other members of the Asteraceae family, C. saxifraga has a composite flower head with both disk and ray florets. [4] Inflorescence are a typical daisy arrangement with white outsides and a yellow centre. The entire inflorescence can be 3 cm across and is often held well above the rosette on a hairy stem, growing to 15 cm. [5] The fruit is small, hard and dry, similar to a sunflower seed. [6] This is often called an achene, but in Asteraceae is more accurately called a cypsela. [7] The primary difference between the two being that a cypsela is a single fruit formed from two ovaries (as in C. saxifraga) while an achene describes a fruit formed from a single ovary. [8] The leaves of C. saxifraga are simple and entire, growing to 3 cm long. They are glaucous silver and hairy. [9] C. saxifraga can be distinguished from the similar and co-occurring C. asteliifolia by its leaves. [10] The leaves of C. saxifraga are shorter (~3 cm) than those of C. asteliifolia (up to 18 cm). [11]
"Saxifraga" is a combination of the Latin words saxum, meaning "stone", and frangere meaning "to break". The name "stone-breaker" is however thought to refer to plant in the genus Saxifraga being used in treating kidney stones. [12] It is unclear whether C. saxifraga is named for breaking rocks or for its similarity to certain Saxifraga species which are also herbaceous and rosette-forming.