Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
Vittadinia hispidula
Common name
A Fuzzweed
Family
Asteraceae
Where found
Forest, roadsides, stony slopes, and behind beaches. Coast and ranges, north from Wadbilliga National Park.
Var. hispidula: Coast and ranges north from Wadbilliga National Park.
Var. setosa: Coast and ranges north of Mogo.
Notes
Annual herb to about 0.3 m tall. Stems bristly, with a few glandular hairs. Leaves alternating up the stems, 1-6 cm long, to 10 mm wide, margins sometimes 3-toothed and lobed towards the tip, tips blunt and with a minute abrupt point. Flower heads with white to purple ‘petals’ and yellow centres. Flower heads 6–7 mm long, bell-shaped to globular behind the ‘petals’. Flower heads in open clusters. Flowering: most of year.
Var. hispidula: Minute glandular hairs on the outer faces of the bracts appressed to the flower heads; coarser erect hairs usually absent.
Var. setosa: Hairs on the bracts appressed to the flower heads vary from numerous to few and sometimes restricted to the midline; glandular hairs usually absent.
Definite identification of most species of Vittadinia depends on microscopic examination of the seeds.
PlantNET description: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Vittadinia~hispidula (accessed 11 February, 2021)
Description above partly based on the description in Cunningham, G.M., Mulham, W.E., Milthorpe, P.L. & Leigh, J.H. (1981 and later printings), Plants of Western New South Wales, page 660
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