Coarse Bottle-daisy - a native (Lagenophora huegelii)

Family: Asteraceae (Daisy family).

Native of SE Australia, mostly north of the Divide.

Occurrence: A common bushland and woodland plant.

Identification:

• it has a rosette of toothed leaves with six to nine blunt teeth
• the leaves and flower stalk are hairy
• the seeds are abruptly contracted at the tip into a beak, and resemble an old-fashioned bottle
• the small daisy flowers have inconspicuous white, pink or purplish petals
• there are about six small leaves along the flower stalk.

It is sometimes spelled lagenifera.

Similar species: Blue Bottle-daisy is a more common plant south of the Divide. Its leaves are more shallowly toothed and the leaves along the flower stalk are smaller. Solenogyne is a common native bushland plant. It has much stouter flower stalks and the seeds are not bottle-shaped.

Photo 1R: Leaf and flower. 2: Seed head showing the bottle-shaped seeds.
3,4: The flowers are incospicuous, and can easily be overlooked. Maldon Historic Area.