Shawia odorata
Common names
scented 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 – Declining | Qualifiers: DPS, DPT, PF
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Simplified description
Bushy shrub with many erect reddish twigs bearing pale narrow oval leaves that are white underneath inhabiting open areas east of Main Divide. Leaves 10-22mm long by 4-6mm wide. Flowers small. Seed fluffy.
Flower colours
White
Detailed description
Dark bushy shrub up to 4 m tall. Branchlets deciduous, rather stout and interlacing, circular in cross-section, striate, bark fawn-grey, downy when young. Leaves opposite, or in opposite fascicles on very short branchlets, 10–25 × 6–15 mm, subsessile, coriaceous, obovate-oblong, glabrous or nearly so above when mature, green, clad below in soft white tomentum; margins flat, entire. Capitula sticky when in bud, in opposite fascicles of 2–5, on short stout peduncles, florets 20–40, ray-florets up to 20, short; corolla of disk-florets viscid-glandular, phyllaries in 3-4 overlapping rows, linear-oblong, obtuse, sticky. Achenes pilose, striate, compressed, 1–2 mm long, pappus-hairs 2–3 mm long, pale fawn to greyish white.
Similar taxa
Shawia virgata in general may be mistaken for S. odorata, however the branchlets are square in cross-section, the leaves are pale green above, and the phyllaries have non-glandular hairs which are not sticky.
Distribution
Endemic. Te Waipounamu | South Island, eastern side of the main Ranges Marlborough region then not so common until McKenzie country to Central Otago.
Habitat
Lowland to Montane (50-1200 m.a.s.l.). Shrubland and scrub.
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Synonyms
Olearia odorata Petrie
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
December – February.
Fruiting
January – March.
Other information
Etymology
shawia: After Thomas Shaw (1694-1751), English scholar and traveller.
odorata: Scented
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.
OLEODO
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 | Not Threatened
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Regional conservation statuses
Otago: 2025 | Regionally At Risk – Regionally Declining | Qualifiers: TL, DPT
The regional threat classification system leverages off the national assessments in the NZTCS, providing information relevant for the regional context. Otago conservation status information is sourced from the “Conservation Status of Indigenous Vascular Plants in Otago, 2025” Jarvie S et al. (2025) report.
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Allan HH. 1961. Flora of New Zealand, Volume I. Indigenous Tracheophyta: Psilopsida, Lycopsida, Filicopsida, Gymnospermae, Dicotyledones. Government Printer, Wellington, NZ. Pgs. 669-670.
Saldivia P, Nicol DA. 2025. Reinstatement, broader circumscription, and infrageneric classification of Shawia (Astereae, Celmisiinae), a large woody genus endemic to Australasia. Phytoneuron 49: 1–43.
Wilson HD & Galloway T. 1993. Small-leaved shrubs of New Zealand. Manuka Press. Pg 196.
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared for NZPCN by MD Ward (May 18th 2025). Description adapted from Allan (1961) and Wilson & Galloway (1993).
Some of this factsheet information is derived from Flora of New Zealand Online and is used under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand licence.