Mountain Cottonwood (Cassinia vauvilliersii)
Kingdom: Plantae
(Unranked): Angiosperms
(Unranked): Eudicots
(Unranked): Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Cassinia
Species: Cassinia vauvilliersii
Syn: Cassinia leptophylla subsp vauvilliersii, Ozothamnus leptophyllus)
Common name: Mountain Cottonwood, Mountain tauhinu
5 species of Cassinia occur in New Zealand but only Cassinia vauvilliersii and its varieties are widespread. It usually occurs in the 900m to 1400m zone on Mt Taranaki.
Cassinia 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.
A young Mountain cottonwood.
Flower buds of Cassinia vauvilliersii 
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