About Olearia microphylla (Vent.) Maiden & Betche
Olearia microphylla is a shrub that usually grows up to 2 metres (6 feet 7 inches) tall. Its leaves are spatula-shaped, between 2 and 7 millimetres (0.079 and 0.276 inches) long and 1 to 3 millimetres (0.039 to 0.118 inches) wide, and are more or less sessile. The upper surface of the leaves is pimply, the lower surface is covered with greyish, woolly hairs, and the leaf edges are rolled under. The daisy-like flower heads are arranged singly at the ends of side branches, are 9 to 17 millimetres (0.35 to 0.67 inches) in diameter, and are sessile. Each flower head holds six to eight white ray florets, which surround four to eight yellow disc florets. Flowering takes place from June to October, and the fruit is a glandular achene with a pappus that has 32 to 47 bristles. Olearia microphylla is widespread across a range extending from south-eastern Queensland through eastern New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, south as far as the Queanbeyan district. It grows in shrubland, heath, and sclerophyll forest, where it occurs alongside species such as Eucalyptus sieberi and Eucalyptus sclerophylla.
