Strap-leaved Daisy

Botanical name: Celmisia angustifolia
Synonyms: None known
Common name(s): Strap-leaved Daisy, Narrow-leaved Daisy

About:
A distinctive alpine mountain daisy forming compact clumps of narrow, strap-like leaves with silvery undersides. During spring and summer it produces attractive white daisy flowers with bright yellow centres held on slender stems above the foliage. It is a hardy high-country species well adapted to exposed alpine environments.

Natural habitat:
Montane to alpine grasslands, fellfields, stable scree slopes, talus margins, and open rocky alpine habitats.

Growing environment:
Thrives in full sun and sharply drained soils. Well suited to alpine gardens, rockeries, raised beds, and dry banks. Requires excellent drainage and dislikes humidity, prolonged wet conditions, and heavy soils.

Endemic distribution:
Endemic to New Zealand. Found in the eastern South Island from Marlborough south through Canterbury to Otago.

Height:
100–200 mm (flower stems to 150 mm)

Width:
200–400 mm

Flowering:
October–January

Fruiting:
November–April

Uses:

• Rock gardens
• Alpine gardens
• Raised beds
• Scree and gravel gardens
• Native alpine collections
• Groundcover for dry sunny sites

Appearance:

Growth habit:
Compact subshrub forming dense clumps and small cushions from a woody, branching base.

Leaves:
Narrow linear to strap-like leaves, 25–50 mm long, dark green above with a soft silvery-white felted underside. Leaves are arranged in rosettes at the tips of short branches.

Flowers:
White daisy flowers up to 40 mm across with bright yellow centres. Flower stems are slender and slightly sticky.

Fruit:
Produces wind-dispersed seeds equipped with fine white hairs.

Ecology:
An alpine specialist adapted to intense sunlight, frost, wind, drought, and poor stony soils. Its seeds are dispersed by wind, allowing it to colonise open mountain habitats.

Associated habitats:
Short tussock grasslands, alpine herbfields, scree slopes, fellfields, rocky ridges, and mountain basins.

How to grow:
Plant in full sun in a very free-draining gritty soil. Avoid heavy clay and humid conditions. Water during establishment but allow the soil surface to dry between watering. Protect from winter wetness where possible.

Propagation:
Usually grown from fresh seed. Established clumps may also be carefully divided. Good drainage and cool conditions are essential for successful cultivation.

Cultural use:
Part of New Zealand’s iconic alpine flora and valued by native plant enthusiasts for its elegant foliage and showy flowers.

Garden value:
A beautiful and hardy alpine daisy that provides year-round interest with its narrow silver-backed leaves and seasonal display of white flowers. Particularly effective in rock gardens, alpine troughs, and naturalistic mountain-style plantings.