Plants of
South Australia
Chrysocephalum apiculatum
Asteraceae
Common Yellow Button,
Common Everlasting,
Small Yellow Button
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Regional Species Conservation Assessments per IBRA subregion.
Least concern
Near threatened
Rare
Vulnerable
Endangered
Critically endangered
Extinct
Data deficient
Adelaide
Arkaroola
Ceduna
Coober Pedy
Hawker
Innamincka
Marla
Marree
Mount Gambier
Oodnadatta
Renmark
Wudinna
Keith
Yunta
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Botanical art

Kath Alcock paintings: 19

Prior names

Helichrysum apiculatum var. occidentale

Helichrysum apiculatum var. racemosum

Helichrysum apiculatum var. minor

Helichrysum odorum var. odorum

Helichrysum odorum var. arachnoideum

Helichrysum semiamplexicaule

Helichrysum ramosissimum

Gnaphalium apiculatum

Helichrysum apiculatum

Common names

Common Yellow Button

Common Everlasting

Small Yellow Button

Etymology

Chrysocephalum from the Greek 'chryso' meaning golden and 'cephalus' meaning a head, referring to the golden flower heads. Apiculatum from Latin meaning abruptly short point, referring to the leaves ending abruptly in a short point.

Distribution and status

Found across all parts of South Australia growing in many varied situations but usually on open sites. Also found in all States. Native. Common in South Australia. Common in the other States.
Herbarium regions: North Western, Lake Eyre, Nullarbor, Gairdner-Torrens, Flinders Ranges, Eastern, Eyre Peninsula, Northern Lofty, Murray, Yorke Peninsula, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, Alinytjara Wilurara, Eyre Peninsula, Kangaroo Island, Northern and Yorke, South Australian Arid Lands, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin, South East
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Ascending to erect perennial herb to 60 cm high with stems and branches covered in cottony hairs. Leaves oblanceolate to obovate, to 60 mm long and 25 mm wide; acuminate to rounded apiculate base, often stem-clasping margins; flat or recurved surfaces with cottony hairs, sometimes denser beneath. Flower-heads in terminal clusters with 3 to many golden-yellow or tinged brown daisy flowers. Flowering between August and December. Fruits are pale brown fluffy daisy-head. Seeds are dark brown oblong seed to 1 mm long and 0.2 mm wide with a smooth surface and with long feather-like pappus. Seed embryo type is spatulate.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between January and November. Collect whole heads that are brown and fluffy or collect just the seeds by plucking it off with your fingers. Mature seeds are easily removed. Place the heads in a tray for a week to dry. Then pluck the seeds from the head with your finders. Viable seeds will be fat and brown. Store the seeds with a desiccant such as dried silica beads or dry rice, in an air tight container in a cool and dry place. Seed viability can be low with many seeds not fully developed. Seeds are non-dormant, viable seed should germinate readily.

Seeds stored:
  Hide
LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)		Number
of plants		Date
collected		Collection number
Collection location		Date
stored		% ViabilityStorage
temperature
BGA 
MSB		149,600 (8.98 g)
149,600 (8.98 g)		27618-Dec-2003PJA73
Murray		23-Mar-2006 -18°C
BGA6,000 (1.34 g)50+9-Dec-2011KHB639
Flinders Ranges		1-Jan-2016100%-18°C
BGA1,100 (0.083 g)50+23-Jul-2017KHB939
North Western		30-Jun-201895%-18°C
Location: BGA — the seeds are stored at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, MSB — the seeds are stored at the Millennium Seed Bank, Kew, England.
Number of plants: This is the number of plants from which the seeds were collected.
Collection location: The Herbarium of South Australia's region name.
% Viability: Percentage of filled healthy seeds determined by a cut test or x-ray.
Germination table:
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We acknowledge the contributions of the South Australian Seed Conservation Centre, the Botanic Gardens of South Australia, and the Department for Environment and Water.