Woolly Variable Daisy
Flower
Ellura
Dwarf Daisy
Group, upright, small, with Stonecrop
 
                      
Dwarf Daisy (Brachyscome goniocarpa)Class: Plants (Plantae) - Land Plants (Charophyta) - Land Plants (Equisetopsida)
Order: Sunflowers (Asterales)
Family: Daisy (Asteraceae)     iNaturalist Observation
Species: Dwarf Daisy (Brachyscome goniocarpa)
This Photo:     Upright, small
Synonym: Brachycome goniocarpa

Thank you Tony and Jenny Dominelli for confirming and Darren Schmitke for helping with the id of this species for us

General Species Information:
Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA) and elsewhere
Because this plant is so variable it was very difficult to determine.
It seems the smaller they are the less information is available.
Our specimens have very small "petals" of around 1mm, instead of 4-8mm.
Being a daisy, the "flowers" are actually many small flowers (florets) in a bunch (or flower head). The florets on the edge are the only ones with "petals", and are called Ray Florets. The "petals" on these are called Ligules.
To complicate things even further, this plant doesn't have "seeds". It has Achenes; fruit containing one seed which never opens.
We couldn't understand why the achenes (seed) could be different shape. On investigating, we cut a "seed" head in half and saw the arangement of the achenes was the reason for the different shapes. Wedge shaped in the middle (with centred hairy crown) and curved wedges on the edge (with offset hairy crown).

Copyright © 2014-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 14-Sep-2014
This species is classed as LC (Least Concern) in the Murray Mallee, SA, by DENR (Regional Species Status Assessments, July 2010)