Billy Buttons

~ Craspedia glauca ~

ASTERACEAE

Their unique and infamous flower heads and happy disposition have inspired so many to recreate their likeness through many different creative mediums. They are a striking vision as they dot the roadside grasslands after winter rains. As much as humans innately desire to hold and keep beautiful things, Billy Buttons are protected in the wild and must be left as firmly rooted as they are found. Seeds for Billy Buttons are so widely available we can easily cultivate them in our own backyards to have and to hold and to encourage our native bees. Just like their wild Paper Daisy friends, Billy Buttons also produce a very long-lasting cut flower. Their name was changed to Pycnosorus globosus (with the common name Drumsticks) in 1992; however, due to this name being inconsistently adopted, we’ve gone with the previous nomenclature.

WHERE TO LOOK

Billy Buttons are widespread across the temperate zones and can often be seen in their own tiny meadows along roadsides. They’ll settle from swamps to mountains, dry forest to grasslands, and occasionally extend to the subalpine region of New South Wales. They enjoy sandy soils and can be found alongside Everlastings, Paper Daisies, Orchids and Grass Trees.

Locations → NSW: Royal National Park, Kosciuszko National Park and Kalyarr National Park; ACT: Namadgi National Park; Victoria: Anglesea Heath, Baluk Willam Nature Conservation Reserve, Gariwerd (Grampians) National Park and Warby-Ovens National Park; SA: Onkaparinga River National Park.

FEATURES

Featuring beautiful silvery-green foliage, this plant starts off as a clump of slender blades and will throw out long stems, donning a single yellow flower ball around 2.5cm large. These consist of 40 to 100 small tubular florets with tiny stems. This herbaceous plant grows an average of 40cm tall and can have one to five flower heads per plant. If pollinated, the whole flower head will mature into a ball of feathery seeds, looking almost dandelion-like. These can be kept for future planting or scattered to the breeze.

FLOWERING SEASON

Spring and summer → Their yellow poms begin to pop from August, tapering out around January.

PLANTING

Billy Buttons will take around 100 days to mature and, if successful, you’ll have a perennial plant bringing in their sweet blooms each year. They enjoy part or full sun, require moderate watering and are frost tolerant. Propagate from cuttings for speedy root formation. Seeds don’t need any special pre-treatment, are widely available and will germinate in 14 to 21 days. See Plant a Wildflower Meadow on p. xix for a full seed-sowing run-down. Billy Buttons also do well in pots and containers.