Actinotus is a genus of flowering plants of the Mackinlayaceae

Mackinlayaceae

Mackinlayoideae is a subfamily of plants containing about 67 species in six genera. In the APG II system it was treated at family rank as Mackinlayaceae, but since then it has been demoted to a subfamily of Apiaceae....

 family, with about 18 species. It is native to Australasia

Australasia

Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...

. Its best known member is the Sydney Flannel Flower

Actinotus helianthi

Actinotus helianthi known as the Flannel Flower, is a common sight in bushland around Sydney, Australia.Despite its appearance, it is not a member of the daisy family but rather a species of flowering plant of the Apiaceae family, the same family as the carrot...

, a common site in Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

 bushland in the spring. The generic name, meaning "furnished with rays" is derived from the Greek

Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...

 stem aktin-/ακτιν- "ray" or "sunbeam".

Most species are endemic to Australia with one from New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. Other notable species are A. schwarzii from the Macdonnell Ranges

MacDonnell Ranges

The MacDonnell Ranges of the Northern Territory, are a long series of mountain ranges located in the centre of Australia , and consist of parallel ridges running to the east and west of Alice Springs...

 in Central Australia

Central Australia

Central Australia/Alice Springs Region is one of the five regions in the Northern Territory. The term Central Australia is used to describe an area centred on Alice Springs in Australia. It is sometimes referred to as Centralia; likewise the people of the area are sometimes called Centralians...

, which closely resembles A. helianthi in appearance, and the rare pink flowering A. forsythii from the Blue Mountains.

Species include:

• Actinotus bellidioides (Hook.f.) Benth.
• Actinotus forsythii Maiden & Betche
• Actinotus gibbonsii F.Muell.
• Actinotus glomeratus Benth.
• Actinotus helianthi
  Actinotus helianthi
  Actinotus helianthi known as the Flannel Flower, is a common sight in bushland around Sydney, Australia.Despite its appearance, it is not a member of the daisy family but rather a species of flowering plant of the Apiaceae family, the same family as the carrot...
  
  Labill.
• Actinotus humilis (F.Muell. & Tate) Domin
• Actinotus leucocephalus Benth.
• Actinotus minor
  Actinotus minor
  Actinotus minor, the Lesser Flannel Flower is a common plant growing in heathland in moist areas not far from Sydney, Australia.A small shrub, 15 to 50 cm tall, with white flowers, similar to the related and more famous Flannel Flower....
  
  (Sm.) DC.
• Actinotus moorei F.Muell. ex Rodway
• Actinotus omnifertilis (F.Muell.) Benth.
• Actinotus paddisonii R.T.Baker
• Actinotus rhomboideus (Turcz.) Benth.
• Actinotus schwarzii F.Muell.
• Actinotus suffocatus (Hook.f.) Rodway
• Actinotus superbus O.H.Sarg.