Desert Squirrel

By PolS

Brachyglottis lagopus

This yellow-flowered daisy used to be known as Brachyglottis saxifragoides, found only on steep, south facing rock outcrops of Banks Peninsula, and was regarded as an uncommon, geographically restricted endemic.  However, botanists have recently concluded that it does not differ from the widespread and much more common B. lagopus.  I only just found this out when I checked that the name I was going to use here (B. saxifragoides) was the correct one.  I was really surprised to find that it wasn't!

So a good lesson.  It isn't easy to keep up with scientific names, especially today when genetic analysis is constantly causing us to revise our classification based on morphological and ecological data, so always important to check for newly published information.  This work was done by Landcare Research, so I trust it, and is easily picked up in a Google search.

The plant in my image grows on a road cutting along the Summit Road, near the top of Mt Pleasant Road, and at present there are a number of plants, including some large clumps, that are flowering.

PS  Just realised it can also be tagged flowerfriday!

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