Alepidea multisecta B.L.Burtt

Herb to c. 30 cm tall, the whole plant shortly papillose-pubescent, the leaves all basal except for those subtending branches on the flowering stem. Radical leaves long petiolate; the basal 2-3 cm vaginate, dark brown; petiole (including sheath) up to 10 cm long; lamina c. 23 x 18 mm, digitately divided to the base into 5 segments themselves multisect in the upper part, ultimate segments c.l 1.5 mm broad, acute or somewhat rounded at the tip and setose-mucronate. Cauline leaves present only at stem branches: lowermost having petiole 10 mm with small toothed auricle at base, lamina 15 mm bipinnatisect; upper ones becoming smaller, sessile, more strongly auriculate and simply pinnatisect, leaf-segments and teeth of auricle strongly setose-mucronate. Flowering stem c. 25 cm high; peduncle of the central umbel 3.5-7 cm long, ribbed. Umbel 1.5 cm across the flattened involucre. Involucre with 5 large inner bracts and 5 smaller outer ones alternating with them, all fused basally, glabrous and green outside, white and very densely papillose inside; inner bracts 6 x 2 mm, usually each with one large lateral tooth c. 2 mm long and cilia-tipped, rather sharply narrowed at mucronate lip; outer bracts 4 x 1.5 mm, gradually narrowed to pungent tip. Flowers 15-20 in the umbel, sessile. Sepals 1 x 0.75-lmm, membranous with well developed midvein. Petals nearly 1.5 mm long, lobulum inflexum webbed for 0.5 mm, free for 0.5 mm, finely acuminate. Stamens: filaments 2 mm long, uppermost 0.5 mm indexed in bud and narrowed; anthers elliptic, 1.25 mm long. Ovary 2 x 1.5 mm, glabrous except for some bladdery triangular scales just below the top; stylopodium nearly flat, lobulate on margin; styles 2 mm. Fruit (immature) in transection somewhat compressed, with 5 well-marked vittae and crystals in the pericarp.