Shrub to c. 4 m high; branchlets and leaf undersurfaces greyish-white with fine, dense, stellate hairs. Leaves alternate, petiolate, lanceolate 30–150 mm long; 5–35 mm wide; upper surface green, finally glabrous and sub-lustrous, often with scattered stellate hairs when young; venation usually distinctly impressed; margin entire or obscurely sinuate or dentate. Capitula 12–25 mm diam., in loose terminal panicles or corymbs; peduncles mostly 5–12 mm long; involucre c. hemispherical, 3.5–4.5 mm long; bracts 3–4-seriate, graduating, all or the outer ones densely pubescent, ciliate toward apex. Ray florets 10–16, white, 4–8 mm long; disc florets 9–14, cream to yellow. Cypsela flattened-obovoid, 6-ribbed, 1.5–2 mm long, sparsely sericeous; pappus bristles 3.5–4.5 mm long Flowers Aug.–Jan.
VVP, GipP, OtP, WaP, Gold, CVU, GGr, NIS, EGL, EGU, WPro, HSF, HNF, OtR, Strz, MonT, HFE, VAlp. Also NSW, Tas. Common in moist forest and scrub east from the Otway Range, ranging from near sea-level to the subalps.
A highly plastic species which can differ significantly depending on the local environment. Plants growing in wet forest can obtain a height of up to 4 m and have leaves in excess of 10 cm long and 3 cm wide, whereas plants in dry exposed sites may c. 1 m high and have very short, narrow, and sometimes slightly toothed leaves. On the Errinundra Plateau and near-by ranges plants have been observed to grade with increased elevation from a somewhat typical form at lower sites to a form resembling O. phlogopappa subsp. flavescens or subsp. continentalis (low plants with leaves that are thick and densely hairy on the undersurface) at higher sites.
Despite this very close association with O. phlogopappa, O. lirata can generally be distinguished by its lanceolate leaves with entire margins and more or less acuminate apex, deeply impressed venation and less densely hairy leaf undersurface that usually lacks sessile glands (but see note under O. phlogopappa subsp. salicina).
See note under O. rugosa subsp. rugosa.
