Clammy daisy bush facts for kids

Olearia decurrens, also known as the clammy daisy bush, is a cool plant that grows in the dry parts of Australia. It's a type of shrub, which means it's a woody plant smaller than a tree. It belongs to the Asteraceae family, which is the same family as sunflowers and daisies!

What's in a Name?

Discovering the Clammy Daisy Bush

A Swiss scientist named Augustin Pyramus de Candolle first described this plant in 1836. He gave it the scientific name Eurybia decurrens back then. He wrote about it in a big book about plants. The plant material he studied was found near the Lachlan River by another explorer, Allan Cunningham.

Meaning of Decurrens

The second part of its scientific name, decurrens, means "decurrent." This word describes how the leaves are attached to the stem. For this plant, it means the base of the leaf runs down along the stem a little bit. It's a clue about how the plant looks!

What Does it Look Like?

Size and Feel

The clammy daisy bush is a woody shrub that usually grows about 1 to 2 meters (3 to 6.5 feet) tall and wide. When you touch its new branches and stems, they might feel a bit sticky. That's because they are covered in a special sticky substance called resin. This is why it's called the "clammy" daisy bush!

Leaves and Flowers

Its leaves are bright green and shaped a bit like a spear, but wider at the tip. They grow one after another along the stems. Each leaf is about 0.7 to 4.8 centimeters (0.3 to 1.9 inches) long and 0.1 to 0.5 centimeters (0.04 to 0.2 inches) wide. They also have pointed tips.

The flowers look like small daisies. They have a yellow center and usually 3 to 5 white petals. These pretty flowers bloom from December all the way to June. They grow in clusters called panicles.

Seeds

After the flowers, the plant produces thin, cylinder-shaped seeds. Each seed has a fluffy tuft at one end, made of about 35 to 50 tiny hairs. This tuft helps the seeds float away in the wind, spreading new plants around.

Where Does it Grow?

Home in Inland Australia

The clammy daisy bush is found across many parts of inland Australia. You can see it in places like Dubbo and Brewarrina in New South Wales. It also grows westwards into Victoria, South Australia, and even Western Australia.

Favorite Spots

This plant likes to grow in certain types of environments:

• Mallee and Mulga scrub: These are types of dry, bushy woodlands found in Australia.
• Soil types: It can grow in stony or sandy soil in Mallee areas. In Mulga areas, it prefers sandy loam or soils with lots of lime (calcareous soils).

Growing Your Own Clammy Daisy Bush

A Tough Plant for Your Garden

Even though it's not super common in gardens, the clammy daisy bush is a very tough plant. It can handle dry weather and even frost, which means it's great for gardens in areas with these conditions.

Best Growing Conditions

If you wanted to grow one, here's what it likes:

• Sunlight: It grows best in places that get a lot of sun or a mix of sun and shade.
• Drainage: It needs soil that drains water well, so its roots don't get too wet.
• Pruning: If you trim the plant sometimes, it will grow bushier and won't get too tall and thin.