Subshrub or shrub to 2 m tall, with few to many branches; stems yellowish with small red maculae, becoming brown below, terete, sparsely to densely hirtellous. Leaves opposite; blades ovate to narrowly lanceolate, subcoriaceous, up to 11 cm long and 4 cm wide, in some forms mostly 2 cm long, the base narrowly cuneate, the margins closely to rather remotely serrate, the apex narrowly acute to slightly acuminate, in small forms shortly acute, the upper surface usually dark green, glabrous, the lower surface very pale, smooth with scattered glandular punctations, 2-3 pairs of strongly ascending secondary veins in basal third or fourth; petioles very short to scarcely distinct, 1-5 mm long. Inflorescence broadly corymbose-paniculate with corymbose branches, the ultimate branches 1-5 mm long, densely puberulous. Heads 4-5 mm high with ca. 17 florets; involucral bracts ca. 10, eximbricate, biseriate, broadly oblong to ovate, 2.5-3.0 mm long, mostly 1 mm wide, not costate, obtuse to short-acute, the outer surface puberulous with small scattered glandular punctations; corolla white or lavender, ca. 2.3 mm long, the tube slender, ca. 1 mm long, with glands and often with numerous short stiff biseriate hairs, the limb broadly funnelform, the lobes as long as the limb, triangular, 1/2 times: as long as wide, only low papillae on inner surface and only glands on outer surface; anther thecae ca. 0.5 mm long, with truncate to short-hastate bases; style base slightly enlarged, the style appendages strongly papillose. Achenes broadly prismatic, ca. 1 mm long, with short bristles on ribs; carpopodium short-cylindrical to rounded, with subquadrate cells; pappus bristles ca. 25, persistent and spreading at maturity, mostly ca. 2.2 mm long, with very slender tips, without distinct series of shorter bristles.
Home