Cassinia macrocephala

Cassinia macrocephala is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae and is endemic to northern New South Wales. It is a shrub with narrow linear leaves and spherical, white to cream-coloured or yellowish-green heads.

Description
Cassinia macrocephala is a shrub that typically grows to a height of 1–2 m with a few erect stems. The leaves are narrow linear, 20–70 mm long and 0.7–2.0 mm wide, depending on subspecies. The flowers heads are spherical, white to cream-soloured or yellowish-green and arranged on a peduncle, each head with five to seventeen white florets surrounded by involucral bracts. The achenes are purplish brown, about 1 mm long with a pappus of 20 to 27 barbed bristles about 2 mm long.

Taxonomy and naming
Cassinia macrocephala was first formally described in 2004 by Anthony Edward Orchard in Australian Systematic Botany from specimens collected near Moonbi in 2004. The specific epithet (macrocephala) means "large-headed".

In the same journal, Orchard described two subspecies and in 2006 two further subspecies in a later edition of Australian Systematic Botany, and the names of the four subspecies are accepted by the Australian Plant Census:
 * Cassinia macrocaphala Orchard subsp. macrocephala has leaves 30–70 mm long, 1–2 mm wide and usually 15 to 17 florets per head;
 * Cassinia macrocaphala subsp. petrapendula Orchard has leaves 25–55 mm long, 0.7–0.8 mm wide and usually 5 to 7 florets per head;
 * Cassinia macrocaphala subsp. storyi Orchard has leaves 60–70 mm long, 1.3–1.5 mm wide and usually 8 florets per head;
 * Cassinia macrocaphala subsp. storyi Orchard has leaves 30–35 mm long, 0.7–1.0 mm wide and usually 9 or 10 florets per head;

Distribution and habitat
This species of Cassinia grows on granite soils in forest in New South Wales. Subspecies macrocaphala occurs on the Northern Tablelands, subsp. petrapendula is only found in a restricted area near Nundle, and subsp. storyi is only known from the type location near Coolah Tops and subsp. tenuis near Inverell.