Alpine daisybush

Olearia phlogopappa, the alpine daisybush or dusty daisybush, is an evergreen shrub in the family Asteraceae endemic to southeastern Australia, including Victoria, New South Wales, and Tasmania. Plants typically reach 1 to 2 metres tall with grey-green, narrow, alternate leaves 1 to 4 cm long bearing a silvery to rust-coloured indumentum of stellate hairs on the lower surface. The slender, woody stems bear masses of daisy-like composite flowerheads roughly 1.5 to 2.5 cm across; each head has white, mauve, pink, or blue ray florets surrounding a yellow disc, produced abundantly in spring and early summer. Achenes are small, ribbed, and topped with a bristly pappus that aids wind dispersal. The species inhabits cool, moist sites in subalpine and montane heathland, eucalypt forest margins, and rocky stream banks, often forming colonies on disturbed slopes. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental for its hardiness and prolific bloom.