Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
Leucochrysum albicans
Common name
Hoary Sunray, Buffalo Sunray
Family
Asteraceae
Where found
Forest, woodland, grassland, and roadsides. Widespread, but rare in coastal areas.
Notes
Perennial herb with a woody base, to about 0.5 m high. Stems woolly, often bearing dry leaves of old growth. The plant dies back to the rootstock over summer. Leaves crowded around the bases of the stems, 1.5–10 cm long, 0.5–9 mm wide, surfaces cottony to woolly, often whitish, margins rolled down. Flower heads hemispherical, 15–50 mm in diameter. Most 'petals' white or yellow, those on the back of the flower straw-coloured to brown or purple, or white tinged with purple. Yellow centres. Flower heads single. Flowers spring to summer.
The two subspecies intergrade. Subspecies of Leucochrysum albicans are not recognised in the ACT.
All native plants on unleased land in the ACT are protected.
subsp. albicans: Most 'petals' yellow, those on the back of the flower straw-coloured to brown or purple. Formerly var. albicans.
subsp. tricolor: Most 'petals' white, those on the back of the flower brown to purple, or white tinged with purple. Formerly var. tricolor
(subsp. tricolor) Intergrades with Leucochrysum alpinum where their ranges overlap.
(subsp. tricolor) Endangered Australia. Endangered Vic. Listed in the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act, Vic.
Varieties have not yet been upgraded to subspecies in PlantNET (2 May 2021).
PlantNET description of species and key to varieties: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Leucochrysum~albicans (accessed 2 May 2021)
This identification key and fact sheets are available as a free mobile application:
