The prominent yellow flower clusters at the top of a one-metre tall shrub are the main identification feature of a local plant known as grey everlasting.
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The yellow flowers are by far its most prominent feature, so the reason – or even the truth – of this plant’s official common name is obscure. The attractive small rounded leaves are white or silver beneath, but not grey.
Its preference for drier sites on poor shaly soils could indicate that “goldfields everlasting” would be a better name, even though its range extends beyond the goldfields proper. Gold-topped everlasting might be better.
Whatever its name, this attractive shrub is widespread in the Ballarat region on drier sites in open forests, both south and north of the Divide. It occurs through much of south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania.
It is one of a number of “shrub everlastings”, which are very different plants from the better-known paper daisy types of everlastings.
It is commonly an open or rather spindly shrub. To botanists it is Ozothamnus obcordatus, and it is related to the much larger tree everlasting, another widespread member of the group.
While not commonly found in gardens, it would make an attractive garden subject if kept trimmed. The yellow, dense flower clusters are as eye-catching as those of many other garden plants. One book describes it as “a showy shrub for a difficult spot”, while another claims that it has potential as a fresh or dried cut flower.
Also in bloom at the moment in local forests is a similar “shrub daisy”, with white flowers. This is common cassinia, which has flower clusters like those of the yellow-flowered shrub we have mentioned.
GOLDEN SUN MOTH
The golden sun-moth is one of the more-publicised insects with a rarity classification. It is listed as critically endangered.
Earlier this week we were pleased to discover one in open short native grass near Creswick. This site was under scattered yellow box trees.
The golden sun-moth is a medium-sized moth, smaller than the cabbage white butterfly. With wings closed, it is mottled blackish-brown. When its wings are open, the orange hindwings are visible, making the insect much more eye-catching.
We see only the males, which come out in warm weather searching for wingless females in patches of wallaby-grass. Warm November days are the best times to find this rarely-seen moth. The temperature at the time of our sighting was just under 30 degrees, but the moth will fly in sunny conditions before temperatures reach 20 degrees.