Erechtites prenanthoides

Erechtites prenanthoides, sometimes called Australian fireweed or New Zealand fireweed, is an annual or short-lived perennial herb in the Asteraceae family native to southeastern Australia, New Zealand and surrounding regions, often colonising disturbed ground, forest margins and clearings after fire. The plant develops a single erect, glabrous to slightly pubescent, ribbed stem 30 to 150 centimetres tall, often branching in the upper portion. The alternate leaves are lanceolate to narrowly oblong, 5 to 15 centimetres long, with irregularly toothed to coarsely lobed margins; lower leaves taper to a winged petiole while upper leaves are sessile with auriculate, clasping bases. The inflorescence is a loose terminal corymb of small, narrowly cylindrical flower heads, each about 8 to 12 millimetres long, containing only inconspicuous yellowish to greenish-white disc florets — ray florets are absent — enclosed by a single row of equal, linear-lanceolate phyllaries. Fruits are slender, ribbed, dark achenes with a pappus of soft white bristles.