Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Leptorhynchos squamatus

Flower head (subsp. alpinus). Australian Plant Image Index, photographer Murray Fagg, Mt Kosciuszko

Flowering plants (subsp. squamatus). Photographer Don Wood, Gungahlin Hill, ACT

Line drawings (subsp. squamatus). f. plant; outer and inner bract round the flower head (outer bract at left); seed. M Moir, National Herbarium of Victoria, © 2021 Royal Botanic Gardens Board

Line drawings (subsp. alpinus). g. plant; outer and inner bract round the flower head (outer bract at left); seed. M Moir, National Herbarium of Victoria, © 2021 Royal Botanic Gardens Board

Common name

Scaly buttons (subsp. squamatus), Alpine buttons (subsp. alpinus)

Family

Asteraceae

Where found

Dry forest, heath, very low shrubland in alpine feldmark, grassland, herbfields, and damp or swampy sites.

subsp. squamatus:  Western Slopes, Kosciuszko National Park, the mountains to the north, ACT, tablelands, and sometimes in the ranges.

subsp. alpinus:  Kosciuszko National Park, the mountains to the north, and ACT. Tablelands and the western edge of the ranges south of the Hume Highway.

Notes

Perennial herb to 0.50 m high. Stems wiry, woolly to almost hairless and shiny red-brown with age. Leaves basal and alternating up the stems, 1–8 cm long, 0.5–4 mm wide, tips pointed, margins curved down, upper surface green and covered with minute glands, more or less hairy with long glistening hairs, or rarely sparsely appressed-hairy, becoming hairless, lower surface sparsely hairy, hairy with appressed woolly hairs, or woolly only in the top half, becoming hairless. Basal leaves and leaves on the lower stems soon withering. Flower heads yellow, 7–15 mm long, 8–15 mm in diameter, with 0 petals, many florets, bell-shaped, single. The bracts tightly pressed to the sides of the flower heads mostly dry and membranous, colourless or brown-tinged, the innermost strongly curved outwards and down at maturity, and extend down the flower stalk. Flowering: spring–autumn.

subsp. alpinus: Tips of the bracts tightly pressed to the sides of the flower heads pointed, pale golden; margins with fine, tangled, woolly hairs. Leaves different colours on the top and below, upper surface hairy to hairless, lower surface white-woolly for the whole surface.

All native plants on unleased land in the ACT are protected.

Rare Vic.

subsp. squamatus: Tips of the bracts tightly pressed to the sides of the flower heads long drawn out, dark golden brown; margins comb-like with long fine hairs. Leaves the same colour on the top and below, upper surface hairy, lower surface hairless to hairy, or woolly only on the upper half.

All native plants on unleased land in the ACT are protected.

PlantNET description of species and key to subspecies:   http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Leptorhynchos~squamatus (accessed 22 January, 2021)