Shawia allomii
Common names
Great Barrier tree daisy
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Current conservation status
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.
- Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2023 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: DPS, DPT, IE, RR
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Simplified description
Shrub bearing broad dished leathery leaves that are white underneath and with large clusters of white flowers inhabiting Great Barrier Island. Twigs fuzzy white. Leaves 2.5-5cm long by 2-4cm wide, on a thick white stalk.
Flower colours
White
Distribution
Endemic. Known only from Great Barrier Island.
Habitat
Virtually confined to open shrubland, cliff, and rock outcrops and associated boulderfield. Only abundant on rhyolitic, dacitic rocks and their associated skeletal soils. In some locations it has extended off these onto andesitic soils and rocks but those populations seem to result from past forest disturbance and are not thriving
Threats
Not threatened but a very uncommon endemic, confined largely to the rhyolitic and dacitic rocks of the central portion of Great Barrier Island
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Synonyms
Olearia allomii Kirk
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
(September-) October (-December)
Fruiting
(October-) December (-April)
Propagation technique
Easy from fresh seed and cuttings but rather hard to maintain in cultivation. Seems to do best in free draining sandy, infertile soils. Good in a pot. Dislikes over watering, humidity and needs full sun.
Other information
Plant of the Month
This plant has been featured as a Plant of the Month – see Trilepidea: NZPCN newsletter for September 2010 for the full story.
Etymology
shawia: After Thomas Shaw (1694-1751), English scholar and traveller.
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
OLEALL
Chromosome number
2n = 108
Previous conservation statuses
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.
- Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2017 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: DP, IE, RR
2012 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: IE, RR
2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: OL, IE
2004 | Range Restricted
Regional conservation statuses
Auckland: 2025 | Regionally Threatened – Regionally Vulnerable | Qualifiers: DPR, DPS, DPT, IE, NStr, RE, RR, TL
The regional threat classification system leverages off the national assessments in the NZTCS, providing information relevant for the regional context. Auckland conservation status information is sourced from the “Conservation status of vascular plant species in Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland” Simpkins E et al. (2025) report.
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Saldivia, P.; Nicol, D.A. 2025: Reinstatement, broader circumscription, and infrageneric classification of Shawia (Astereae, Celmisiinae), a large woody genus endemic to Australasia. Phytoneuron 49: 1–43.