| Cotula alpina | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Genus: | Cotula |
| Species: | C. alpina |
| Binomial name | |
| Cotula alpina | |
Cotula alpina, also known as the alpine cotula, is a perennial herb in the family Asteraceae. It is a small flowering plant that forms ground covering mats and is well adapted to alpine environments.
Alpine cotula has flat glabrous light-green leaves that are pinnately divided almost to the midrib. [1] [2] It forms a large number of rosettes which lie just above ground level while the leaves are hairless and between 1–3 cm in length and 5–10 mm wide. [1] [2] They are slow growing plants and are often stoloniferous. [3] It can be easily confused with Leptinella filicula which has similar looking leaves and is also part of the family Asteraceae. [4] Flowering occurs from spring through to summer. [2] Each rosette produces a single yellow to cream flower, about 7 mm in diameter. [3] They are at the top of erect stalks that are generally shorter than the leaves but extend further when fruiting. [5] A unique characteristic of C. alpina is that the flower-bearing stalks are hollow. [3]
Cotula alpina is found in heath, short herbfield and tussock grasslands in alpine and sub-alpine areas. [1] It is common in the Central Plateau and Midlands of Tasmania and can also be found at high altitudes in Victoria and New South Wales. [2] The herb can survive in shade to full sun and requires high moisture levels for growth. [3] It can also tolerate clay, loam and sandy soil types and is phosphorus intolerant. [3] It can survive through exposed environmental conditions including high winds and low temperatures including snow and frosts. [5] It has been reported to show grazing resistance. [6]
Cotula aplina has achenes, which are hard, dry fruit which contain a single seed. As the seed matures, the achenes loosen towards the top and develops a fluffy appearance. [5] The seeds are 1.5–2 mm long, compressed laterally and germination can occur after 2 to 4 weeks. [5]
Craspedia is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family commonly known as billy buttons and woollyheads. They are native to Australia and New Zealand where they grow in a variety of habitats from sea level to the Alps. The genus is found in every state of Australia except the Northern Territory. In New Zealand, Craspedia is found from East Cape on the North Island south to Stewart Island. It also occurs on Campbell Island and the Chatham Islands.
Microseris lanceolata is an Australian alpine herb with yellow flowers and one of three plants known as murnong or yam daisy along with Microseris scapigera and Microseris walteri.
Olearia axillaris is a shrub of the family Asteraceae, found in coastal areas of Australia. Commonly known as the coastal daisybush, or wild rosemary, it was one of the first Australian edible plants to be recognised as such by Europeans.
Gaultheria hispida, commonly known as the copperleaf snowberry, is an endemic eudicot of Tasmania, Australia. It is an erect multi-branched shrub, that can be found in wet forests and alpine woodlands. Its berries appear snowy white and leaves are tipped with a copper tinge, hence the common name.
Leptinella is a genus of alpine flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, comprising 33 species, distributed in New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and South America. Many of the species are endemic to New Zealand.
Olearia phlogopappa commonly known as the dusty daisy-bush or alpine daisy-bush is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae that is commonly found in eastern New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. It is a small shrub with greyish-green foliage, daisy-like flowers in white, pink or mauve that can be seen from spring to late summer.
Rhodanthe anthemoides, commonly known as chamomile sunray, is a perennial species of the daisy family Asteraceae. It is endemic to Australia. Plants have multiple stems rising from the base which reach up to 40 cm high and spread to 60 cm wide. The leaves are about 10 mm long and 0.5 to 2 mm in width.
Senecio pectinatus, commonly known as alpine groundsel, is a species of flowering plant in the aster family. The species occurs in alpine areas of south-eastern Australia in peat-based soils. It has divided leaves forming a basal rosette and produces a single yellow flower head on a stalk up to 20 cm high.
Orites revolutus , also known as narrow-leaf orites, is a Tasmanian endemic plant species in the family Proteaceae. Scottish botanist Robert Brown formally described the species in Transactions of the Linnean Society of London in 1810 from a specimen collected at Lake St Clair. Abundant in alpine and subalpine heath, it is a small to medium shrub 0.5 to 1.5 m tall, with relatively small, blunt leaves with strongly revolute margins. The white flowers grow on terminal spikes during summer. Being proteaceaous, O. revolutus is likely to provide a substantial food source for nectivorous animal species within its range.
Chaptalia albicans, the white sunbonnet, is a plant species native to Mexico, Central America and the West Indies. It is known from Jamaica, Cuba, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, southern Florida, the Bahamas, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, San Luis Potosí, Veracruz, Yucatán, Campeche and Chiapas.
Geum talbotianum, also known as the Tasmanian snowrose, is a perennial rosette herb endemic to Tasmania and confined to the high rocky places of Tasmania's Southern mountains.
Pomatosace filicula is a species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae, endemic to the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau in China.
Astelia alpina called pineapple grass, silver astelia, or perching lily is a commonly found species in alpine and subalpine areas of Tasmania and the Australian Alps. It is a perennial herb that typically dominates its environment by growing in dense clusters, called mats, in alpine bogs. There are two subspecies: Astelia alpina var. novae hollandiae from New South Wales and Victoria and Astelia alpina var. alpina endemic to Tasmania. Both subspecies appear very similar to each other. The species was originally described by Robert Brown.
Hakea lissosperma, commonly known as needle bush and mountain needlewood, is a species of Hakea native to parts of south eastern Australia.
Orites acicularis, commonly known as yellow bush, is an angiosperm endemic to Tasmania, Australia and is a member of the genus Orites within the family Proteaceae. The species was first described in 1810 by Scottish botanist Robert Brown in Transactions of the Linnean Society of London.
Leptinella filiformis, or slender button daisy, is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family, found only in the north-eastern part of the South Island of New Zealand. Thought to be extinct by the 1980s, it was rediscovered growing on a hotel lawn in 1998, and in the wild in 2015.
Monotoca glauca, known as goldy wood, is a heath family shrub endemic to Tasmania, Australia and is one of 17 described Monotoca species. It is a widespread and abundant understory species found on the margins of wet eucalypt forests and logged areas.
Chionogentias diemensis is a flowering herbaceous alpine plant in the family Gentianaceae, endemic to the island of Tasmania in Australia. It is commonly known as the Tasmanian mountain gentian. Chionogentias diemensis has been classified into two sub-species: the Tasmanian snow-gentian and the Ben Lomond snow-gentian.
Microseris walteri is an Australian perennial herb with yellow flowers and edible tuberous roots, and one of three plants known as murnong or yam daisy along with Microseris scapigera and Microseris lanceolata.
Olearia ledifolia, commonly known as the rock daisy bush, is a flowering shrub of the family Asteraceae. It is endemic to Tasmania and found at higher altitudes where it grows as a low, compact bush with tough leathery leaves and bears numerous small white daisy-like flowers in summer. The specific name ledifolia is derived from the Greek 'ledos' and the Latin 'folium' (leaf), referring to the hairy under surface of the leaves. It was initially described as Eurybia ledifolia by J.D. Hooker in 1860 and then as O. ledifolia by George Bentham in the 1867 census 'Flora Australiensis: a description of the plants of the Australian territory'.