Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
Leucochrysum alpinum
Common name
Alpine sunray
Family
Asteraceae
Where found
Woodland, very low shrubland in alpine feldmark, grassland, and herbfields at high altitude. Kosciuszko National Park, the mountains to the north, and the ACT.
Notes
Perennial herb to 0.5 m high, often sprawling, woody at the base. Often forming extensive patches. Stems woolly, covered at the base with the remains of old leaves. Leaves crowded around the base of the stems and alternating up the lower stems, 1.5–9 cm long, 2–10 mm wide, grey, densely woolly. Flowers strongly perfumed. Flower heads spreading from the base, 20–40 mm in diameter. Most 'petals' white, those on the back of the flower pale brown or reddish purple to purple. Centres yellow to orange. Flower heads single. Flowers spring-autumn.
Intergrades with Leucochrysum albicans var. tricolor where their ranges overlap.
Was Leucochrysum albicans subsp. alpinum.
All native plants on unleased land in the ACT are protected.
Rare Vic.
PlantNET description: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Leucochrysum~alpinum (accessed 28 April 2021)
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