Plants of
South Australia
Olearia passerinoides ssp. glutescens
Asteraceae
Sticky Daisy-bush
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Regional Species Conservation Assessments per IBRA subregion.
Least concern
Near threatened
Rare
Vulnerable
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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: 2

Prior names

Eurybia glutescens

Aster glutescens

Etymology

Olearia named after Johann Gottfried lschlger (1603-1671), 17th century German horticulturist and author of a flora of Halle in Germany (his name was latinized to Olearius). Alternatively, it maybe from the Latin 'olearius' pertaining to oil, from 'olea', for olive tree; alluding to the first named species resembling the olive. Passerinoides means resembling Passerina, of sparrows or sparrow-like but unsure of the reference to the species. Glutescens from the Latin 'gluten' meaning glue, alluding to the sticky nature of the plant.

Distribution and status

Found in the wetter parts of South Australia, on the tip of Yorke Peninsula, southern Mount Lofty Ranges and in the Murray. Also found in New South Wales and Victoria. Native. Rare in South Australia. Very rare in the other states.
Herbarium regions: Murray, Yorke Peninsula, Southern Lofty, Green Adelaide
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, Northern and Yorke, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Slender shrub to to 2 m high with sticky branchlets and leaves. Leaves to 20 mm long, spreading. Flowers in clusters of 2-8 at terminal, with 8-15 white (rarely mauve) ray florets and mauve to pink disc florets. Flowering between January and April. Differ from the other subspecies found in South Australia, Olearia passerinoides spp. passerinoides, which has solitary flower-head, 6-9 ray florets, short erect to appressed leaves and seeds to 6 mm long. Fruits are pale brown daisy head. Seeds are brown cylindrical seed to 2 mm long (excluding the pappus) and 0.8 mm wide, with a striated surface covered in scattered hairs and long pappus bristles at one end. Seed embryo type is spatulate fully developed.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between March and June. Collect heads that are large and fluffy. Either pick off the whole heads or use your finger and pull off the seeds from the head. Mature seeds will come off easily. Place the heads in a tray for a week to dry. No cleaning is required if only pure seeds are collected. If heads are collected, then rub the heads gently with your hands to dislodge the seeds. Viable seeds will be fat and hard. 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 is variable depending on timing of collection and population numbers. Seeds are non-dormant, viable seed should germinate readily.

Seeds stored:
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LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)
Number
of plants
Date
collected
Collection number
Collection location
Date
stored
% ViabilityStorage
temperature
BGA 
MSB
5,700 (2.63 g)
5,700 (2.63 g)
50+22-Mar-2006DJD439
Murray
14-Sep-200635%+5°C, -18°C
BGA19,000 (7.16 g)50+1-Mar-2017DJD3636
Murray
1-Nov-201775%+5°C, -18°C, -80°C
BGA1,900 (0.57 g)81-Mar-2017JRG571
Murray
1-Nov-201755%-18°C
BGA11,000 (5.38 g)167-May-2017KHB924
Murray
30-Jun-201890%-18°C, -80°C
BGA5,300 (1.230 g)30+4-Mar-2021DJD4013
Southern Lofty
7-Jul-2022100%-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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