Shawia pachyphylla
Common names
thick-leaved tree daisy
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Simplified description
Very rare shrub with large broad leathery pale leaves that are white underneath currently only know from some headlands near Ōpōtiki in the North Island. Leaves 55–130mm long. Flowers with short white petals and with a body 10–20mm long, in large clusters not projecting much beyond leaves.
Flower colours
White
Detailed description
Shrub up to 3 m tall, with spreading branches. Bark greyish–brown to silvery grey, flaking in short curling strips. Branchlets 4–angled. Leaves clustered at branchlet tips, 55–130 × 35–90 mm, broadly elliptic, ovate to ovate-oblong, coriaceous, upper surface dark green glossy green, lower surface clad in fine, appressed silvery–white to light brown tomentum, apex obtuse, base obtuse or oblique, petioles 4–15 mm long. Inflorescence corymbose, with 15–50 capitula; capitulum 10–20 mm long; peduncle 8–15 mm long. Involucre cylindrical, bracts 34–44, in 7–9 rows; bracts 1–6 mm long, lower surface densely covered in long, spreading, shaggy, grey to grey–white hairs, upper surface glabrous. Florets 7–12 per capitulum. Ray florets 2–4, pistillate, irregularly spaced; corolla glabrous, tube 5.0 mm long, ligulate with white limb 4.0 × 1.5 mm, 2–3-lobed at apex. Disc florets 5–9, hermaphrodite, pale yellow; tube 6.0 mm long, glabrous; lobes 5, 1.3–1.5 × 0.5 mm, outer surface sparsely hairy. Achenes narrowly cylindric, light brown, 9–12-ribbed, with sparse white hairs and sessile glands; pappus 5.0–7.5 mm long, pale orange-yellow.
Similar taxa
Shawia furfuracea [Olearia furfuracea] and Olearia townsonii [O. townsonii] both grow taller (up to 5 m) but the best way to distinguish them from S. pachyphylla is by the number, shape, and ornamentation of the scales (involucral bracts) that enclose the base of the flower heads. Shawia pachyphylla has 35–40 of these scales arranged in 10 tiers enclosing the capitula while Olearia townsonii has these in tiers of 3–4 and Shawia furfuracea in tiers of 2–3. The scales of Shawia pachyphylla are also diagnostic as their undersides are densely covered in long, grey silky hairs.
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: (northern North Island from Coromandel Peninsula to East Cape, very uncommon in Waikato; it was known from rock outcrops near the summit of the main range dividing Coromandel township from Whangapoua Harbour, and more recently (1992) it has been collected from bluffs near Cook’s Beach).
Habitat
Strictly coastal. Growing amongst low scrub on steep cliffs and along stream banks.
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 | Threatened – Nationally Critical | Qualifiers: CI, CD, OL
Threats
Habitat loss through coastal development, and weed encroachment. Goats are believed to be the main reason for this species extinction at one of its eastern Bay of Plenty sites.
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Synonyms
Olearia pachyphylla Cheeseman
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
January–April.
Fruiting
March–May.
Propagation technique
Easy from fresh seed and semi-hardwood cuttings. An attractive species for a well drained, suuny location. Plants are prone to verticillium wilt and phytophora.
Other information
Etymology
pachyphylla: Thick-leaved
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.
OLEPAC
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 | Threatened – Nationally Critical | Qualifiers: CD, OL, St
2012 | Threatened – Nationally Critical | Qualifiers: OL
2009 | Threatened – Nationally Critical | Qualifiers: OL
2004 | Threatened – Nationally Endangered
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
de Lange PJ, Heenan PB, Norton DA, Rolfe JR, Sawyer JWD. 2010. Threatened Plants of New Zealand. Canterbury University Press, Christchurch. 471 p.
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.
Attribution
Fact Sheet prepared for the NZPCN by P.J. de Lange 14 April 2006. Description by P.B Heenan and P.J. de Lange and subsequently published in de Lange et al. (2010).
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Shawia pachyphylla Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/shawia-pachyphylla/ (Date website was queried)