Actinotus helianthi

Location & distribution maps

Phylogeny & links to associated information

Wikipedia links:       Angiosperms > Eudicots > Asterids > Apiales > Apiaceae >  Actinotus   helianthi

Other links:     

Plant  information

Common name:               Flannel flower  

Conservation status:   . . .

Etymology:   

• Its generic name, meaning "furnished with rays", is derived from the Greek stem aktin-/ακτιν- "ray" or "spoke of a wheel" or "sunbeam"

• Its specific epithet is derived from its resemblance to the genus Helianthus

Flowers:                  

• The attractively lobed leaves are up to 10 cm long and 7 cm wide

• Daisy-shaped flowerheads around 5 or occasionally 8 cm in diameter

• The bracts are cream to white in colour

• Flowering occurs in spring and may be profuse after bushfires

Fruit:                         

Leaves:         

Stem & branches:        

• The stem, branches and leaves of the plant are a pale grey in colour, covered in downy hair (rather like flannel in texture)

Roots:         

Habit:        

• It is generally a herbaceous shrub growing up to 50 cm high, although rare specimens can be found to be 1.5 m high

Habitat:   

• Bushland and sandstone heathland 

Distribution:                  

• A common species of flowering plant native to the bushland around Sydney

• in coastal New South Wales and Queensland, and are commonly seen around the Sydney basin in spring

Additional notes:     

• An iconic Sydney plant, its floral display has horticultural appeal which has seen limited use in the home garden and cut flower industry

• It is an iconic Sydney plant and has been used in imagery and art since colonial times

• It grows alongside the related lesser flannel flower 

• Despite its appearance, it is not a member of the daisy family but rather a species of the Apiaceae family, the same family as the carrot

• Taxonomy

  • It was named and first described by the French botanist Jacques Labillardière in his Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen the first general flora of Australia

  • According to historian Edward Duyker Labillardière could not have collected the type specimen personally and might have received it from Jean-Baptiste Leschenault de La Tour botanist on the expedition of Nicolas Baudin or another early French visitor to NSW

• Cultivation

  • Plants may be propagated by seed or cutting and grow in a well-drained sunny position,

  •  Are suitable for use in a rockery or cottage garden

  • The Mount Annan Botanic Garden has been involved in selecting and breeding cultivars for the home garden and the cut flower industry

  • One selection was named Actinotus 'Federation Star', and was chosen to be the NSW floral emblem for the Centenary of Federation (1901–2001)

Sources of information:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actinotus_helianthi (2023)