Flowers and leaves. Photo: Don Wood, Scotia Sanctuary, NSW

Dead flowers. Photo: Don Wood, Scotia Sanctuary, NSW

Flowering plant. Photo: Don Wood, Scotia Sanctuary, NSW

Young plant. Photo: Don Wood, Scotia Sanctuary, NSW

Common Name

Fruit Salad Plant; Applebush

Family

Asteraceae

Notes

Short-lived aromatic perennial forb to 1.2m tall.  Leaves alternating up the stems, the bases extending down the stems as a narrow wing, 1-5cm long, 3-15mm wide, flat, hairy below, sometimes almost hairless above, edges entire or toothed to lobed.  Flowers pink to purple, with 0 petals.  Flower heads spherical or oval, borne singly at the ends of the stems.

Description and photo in G.M. Cunningham, WE Mulham, PL Milthorpe and J H Leigh (1981 and later printings) Plants of Western New South Wales page 685

PlantNET description: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Pterocaulon~sphacelatum