Phil Bendle Collection:Ozothamnus vauvilliersii (Mountain Cottonwood)

Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Tribe: Gnaphalieae
Genus: Ozothamnus
Species: O. vauvilliersii
Binomial name: Ozothamnus vauvilliersii
Synonyms: Cassinia vauvilliersii,  Cassinia leptophylla subsp vauvilliersii, Ozothamnus leptophyllus,  
Common name: Mountain Cottonwood, Mountain tauhinu

2 New Zealand species of  Ozothamnus occurs throughout New Zealand but only Ozothamnus vauvilliersii is widespread. It usually occurs in the 900m to 1400m zone and can be found on Mt  Egmont/Taranaki.
Ozothamnus vauvilliersii is an erect, evergreen, bushy shrub, which can grow up to 3 m high. The small, leathery, green leaves are typically about up to 12 mm long and the edges are rolled in beneath. The whitish flowers occur in dense clusters of 10 to 20 during summer.

Shrub in flower early March on the Denniston plateau,  North Westland, South Island
[1]

Photographed at Otari Wilton Native Gardens, Wellington.
[2]

[3]

Close up of the flowers.
[4]

Photographed Mt Taranaki / Egmont later March
[5]

Late flowers. Photographed late March.
 

[6]

Seed heads just being released when they will be blown by the wind.
[7]

Flower buds of Ozothamnus vauvilliersii   Photographed at Otari Wilton Reserve

A young plant at Otari Wilton Native Gardens, Wellington.
[8] 

[9]  

Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information:https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

---