Olearia plucheacea

Olearia plucheacea is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae and is endemic to inland Western Australia. It is an erect, open shrub with scattered hairy, thread-like to linear leaves, and white and yellow daisy-like inflorescences.

Description
Olearia plucheacea is an erect, open shrub that typically grows to a height of up to 1.5 m, its stems and leaves covered with simple and glandular hairs. The leaves are arranged alternately, scattered along the branchlets, sticky, thread-like to narrowly linear, 12–45 mm long and 1–5 mm wide. The heads or daisy-like "flowers" are arranged in dense panicles on the ends of branches on a peduncle up to 35 mm long, the leaves grading to the narrowly conical involucre at the base. Each head is 9.5–13.5 mm in diameter with 5 to 7 white ray florets, the ligule 3.5–4.5 mm long, surrounding 3 to 5 yellow disc florets. Flowering occurs from August to October and the fruit is an achene 1.7–2.4 mm long, the pappus with 25 to 38 bristles.

Taxonomy
Olearia plucheacea was first formally described in 1990 by Nicholas Sèan Lander in the journal Nuytsia. The specific epithet (plucheacea) means "resembling Pluchea".

Distribution and habitat
This daisy bush grows on stony soil in woodland or shrubland in the Carnarvon, Gascoyne, Murchison and Pilbara bioregions of inland Western Australia.

Conservation status
Olearia plucheacea is listed as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.