Native wedelia
Apowollastonia spilanthoides, Fam. Asteraceae
Perennial herb up to 1m high, scabrous stems. Synonym Wedelia spilanthoides.
| Weed Category: | |
| Weed: | No |
| Form or habit: | Herb |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Leaf: | Sessile or subsessile, very variable in shape, narrowly linear to narrowly lanceolate, 30-50 (-90) x 2-5 (-10)mm wide, dark green and coarsely scabrous both surfaces, cuneate basally, acute, usually coarsely serrate with spreading teeth, the 2 basal teeth often larger and shortly lobe-like (occasionally some leaves almost entire). |
| Flower conspicuous: | Conspicuous |
| Flower colour: |
Yellow |
| Flower description: | Solitary heads, two or three together, 8-10mm in diameter. Yellow ray florets, ligulate oblanceolate, bifid. Disc florets yellow and numerous. Peduncles 10-15 (-25)cm long. Involucral bracts ovate to lanceolate, 3-6mm long, receptacle scales lanceolate. |
| Fruit conspicuous: | Conspicuous |
| Fruit colour: |
Black, Grey |
| Fruit: | |
| Fruit description: | Dark grey black compressed, obovoid achenes, 3 x 1-1.2mm, weakly and bluntly 2- or 4-angled (disc) or 3-angled (ray), not winged, and sometimes lacking angles, very sparsely and shortly (0.05-0.1mm) hairy apically, smooth. Pappus quite inconspicuous, a few sparse minute scales, on a short rostrum, with no awns. |
| Habitat: | Woodland. |
| Distribution | Queensland, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Western Australia, New Guinea. |
| Food source for: | |
| Toxicity: | No toxicity known |
| Origin: | Australia, New Guinea. |
| Notes: | |
| Information sources: | Atlas of Living Australia (2022) Apowollastonia spilanthoides (F.Muell.) Orchard., Orchard AE. (2013) The Wollastonia/Melanthera/Wedelia generic complex (Asteraceae: Ecliptinae), with particular reference to Australia and Malesia. Nuytsia 23., PlantNET (2022) Apowollastonia spilanthoides (F.Muell.) Orchard. FloraOnline. |
