Cratystylis conocephala commonly known as the blue bush daisy, blue bush, grey bush, and round leaved greybush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to southeast Western Australia, South Australia, New South Wales, and Victoria. It is a densely branched, spreading shrub.The species is listed as endangered in New South Wales and critically endangered in Victoria.
Cratystylis conocephala is a silver to blue-grey shrub, upright to high. The stems are erect, woody and densely arranged and forms a gnarled trunk. The bark is fibrous, with younger stems covered densely in short, matted, wooly hairs. Leaves are wedge-shaped to oval shaped, long and have a prominent mid-vein and grey and wooly on both sides. Flowerheads are 12âÂÂ15 mm long and 3âÂÂ8 mm in diameter and are stalkless. Obtuse involucral bracts are 3âÂÂ7 mm long, green and sparsely hairy. Florets 4âÂÂ6; corollas 10-12mm long and white in colour. Flowering occurs from September to December and the fruit is an Achenes 3âÂÂ4 mm long when not fully developed (abortive) and 6âÂÂ7 mm when fertile.
This species was described in 1855 by Ferdinand von Mueller and given the name Eurybia conocephala. In 1905 Spencer Le Marchant Moore changed the name and the description was published in Journal of Botany, British and Foreign.
This species is found on calcareous red soils and sandy soils in different ecosystem types. These include mallee, coastal scrub and woodland vegetation communities. Blue bush daisy proliferates in ecosystems which have not been exposed to fire for extended periods of time. It grows in the IBRA (Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia) of Coolgardie, Hampton, Mallee (Victoria), Mallee and Nullarbor. on calcerous red soils and sandy soilsin Western Australia, South Australia, Northern Territory, New South Wales and Victoria. The species is very rare in the Southern Far Western Plains of New South Wales, and Belah Woodlands of North West Victoria. It is found to grow in mallee, coastal scrub and woodland vegetation communities.