Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
Chrysocephalum apiculatum
Common name
Yellow buttons, Common everlasting
Family
Asteraceae
Where found
Dry forest, woodland, grassy areas, disturbed sites, and roadsides. Widespread.
Notes
Perennial herb to 0.6m tall. Stems hairy, often somewhat sticky. Leaves alternating up the stems, 1-6 cm long, 1-25 mm wide, hairy, margins flat or curved down, tips pointed or rounded, often with a tiny point. Flower heads 5-8 mm long, 4-15 mm in diameter, bell-shaped to top-shaped, with many small papery 'petals', yellow, slightly to strongly tinged brown, rarely white tinged pink, in compact clusters of 2 to 10 or more flower heads. Flowers most of the year, mainly Spring.
subsp. apiculatum: Stems lacking glandular hairs. Stems and leaves cobwebby. Leaves linear to narrow
subsp. argenteum: Stems lacking glandular hairs, silky with strongly appressed silvery hairs. Leaves linear to narrowly oblong or narrowly oval, densely silky all over, margins entire and flat. Flower heads in a compact cluster.
All native plants on unleased land in the ACT are protected.
subsp. caespitosum: Stems lacking glandular hairs, silky with strongly appressed silvery hairs. Leaves threadlike to linear, silky, becoming hairless with age. Flower heads single or in a compact spherical cluster.
subsp. congestum: Stems lacking glandular hairs, silky with strongly appressed silvery hairs. Leaves linear to narrowly oblong or narrowly oval, with cottony hairs. Mid-stem leaves entire, flat. Flower heads congested.
subsp. filiformis: Stems lacking glandular hairs, silky with strongly appressed silvery hairs. Leaves threadlike to linear, with silky hairs. Flower heads 1–5 in compact terminal clusters.
subsp. glandulosum: Stems moderately to densely tomentose with glandular and non-glandular hairs and stalkless glands. Leaves linear to oblong-oval, tomentose with glandular and non-glandular hairs and stalkless glands, margins flat or curved down, sometimes wavy..
subsp. gracile: Stems lacking glandular hairs, silky with strongly appressed silvery hairs. Leaves linear to narrowly oblong or narrowly oval, with cottony hairs. Mid-stem leaves with margins curved down and somewhat wavy. Flower heads in small clusters.
subsp. orarium: Stems lacking glandular hairs, cottony. Leaves cobwebbed, cottony or silky.
subsp. variabile: Stems variably glandular Leaves narrowly oblong, with stalkless and glandular stalked hairs; tips pointed.
All native plants on unleased land in the ACT are protected.
PlantNET description: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Chrysocephalum~apiculatum
(accessed 30 April 2021)
PlantNET has not yet included descriptions of the subspecies. Descriptions above derived from the key to subspecies in VICFLORA: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/flora/key/6642 (accessed 30 April 2021)
Description of subsp. argenteum in Wilson, Paul G. (2016), A taxonomic treatment of Chrysocephalum apiculatum and with semipapposum (Asteraceae: Gnaphalieae). Nuytsia 27: 51-52
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