Leucochrysum albicans

Leucochrysum albicans is an upright, tufted perennial to 45 cm (18 in) high. The leaves are linear to oblong or broadly egg-shaped, woolly, 2–10 cm (0.79–3.94 in) long, 1–9 mm (0.039–0.354 in) wide, light grey and crowded near the base of the stems. The flower heads 2–4 cm (0.79–1.57 in) in diameter, borne singly on a slim peduncle 7–15 cm (2.8–5.9 in) long. The outer bracts brown, inner bracts white or yellow in rows, triangular to narrow-elliptic shaped with a woolly lamina at the base. Flowering occurs in spring and summer and the fruit is an achene 3 mm (0.12 in) long and covered with feathery-like white bristles.[3][4][5][6]

The species was first formally described by botanist Allan Cunningham in 1825 in Geographical Memoirs on New South Wales and gave it the name Helichrysum albicans.[7] In 1992 Paul Graham Wilson changed the name to Leucochrysum albicans in the journal Nuytsia.[8][9]The specific epithet (albicans) means "whitish".[10]

In the same edition of the journal Nuytsia, Wilson described three varieties and two subspecies, albicans and alpinum of L. albicans.[9] In 2010 Neville Grant Walsh transferred von Mueller's Helipterum incanum var. alpinum to Leucochrysum as L. alpinum in the journal Muelleria, including L. leucochrysum subsp. alpinum as a synonym.[11] In a 2015 edition of Muelleria, Walsh raised the rank of de Candolle's Helipterum incanum var. tricolor to subspecies as L. albicans subsp. tricolor.[12]

The names of the two subspecies have been accepted by the Australian Plant Census:

• Leucochrysum albicans (A.Cunn.) Paul G.Wilson subsp. albicans[13] has yellow inner involucral bracts.[14][15]
• Leucochrysum albicans (DC.) N.G.Walsh subsp. tricolor[16] has white inner involucral bracts.[17][18]

Hoary sunray is a widespread species found growing in moist, rocky alpine locations in woodlands and grasslands on nutrient poor soils in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania.[3][4][5][15] Subspecies tricolor mainly grows in grassland or grassy woodland at altitudes between about 100 and 900 m (330 and 2,950 ft) in disjunct populations in Tasmania, Victoria and south-eastern New South Wales, although it has not been recorded this century in Victoria.[17][18][19][20]

Subspecies tricolor is listed as "endangered" under the Australian Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999,[20] the New South Wales Government Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016[19] and the Victorian Government Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988.[18] A National Recovery Plan has been prepared.[21]