Arctotis debensis R.J.Mckenzie

PERENNIAL HERB, 10-20 cm high, distantly branched forming patches up to ±1 m wide. STEM stout, woody, prostrate, often becoming shallowly subterranean, internodes indistinct, 5-8(-10) mm wide, long fibrous adventitious roots borne along the stem and from the terminal rosette. LEAVES alternate, ascending to patent, forming a terminal rosette, older leaves withering and persistent, base semiamplexicaul and imbricate, petiolate, petiole 10-30(-50) x 5-10(-13) mm, sometimes reddish-purple on adaxial surface, lamina obovate to lyrate-pinnatifid, coriaceous, yellowish to bright green, adaxial surface scabrous and pilose, abaxial surface densely white-lanate, major veins green and pilose, midrib prominent, margins slightly revolute, incised-dentate, teeth acute to obtuse, mucronate, up to five lobes on each side of midrib, lamina apex obtuse to rounded (5-)6-12 (-18) x (1-)2-4(-7) cm; bracteate leaves subtending peduncle narrow-linear, 2-3.5 cm. CAPITULA terminal, 1-3 per rosette, heterogamous, radiate, peduncle shortly overtopping the leaves, up to 17 cm long, erect at anthesis gradually elongating and becoming procumbent prior to cypsela maturation, pilose, longitudinally ridged, ridges green or red-purple, white-lanate between ridges, bracts 1-3, narrow-linear, up to 15 mm. INVOLUCRE campanulate-cyathiform, base truncate, 12-15 x 15-20 mm, involucral bracts numerous, in c. three series; outer bracts triangular-acuminate, somewhat keeled, densely pilose on abaxial surface, adaxial surface distally pilose with short appressed trichomes, apex reflexed or appressed, obtuse, 5-8 x 2-3.5 mm; median bracts similar, apex appressed, 7-8 x 4-4.5 mm; inner bracts oblong-ovate, not keeled, not woody, margins and apex translucent, apex truncate, 8-10.5 x 3-4.5 mm. RECEPTACLE shallowly convex, epaleate, shallowly alveolate, not fimbrillate. RAY FLORETS functionally female, 25-34; corolla tube moderately villous with biseriate glandular trichomes mainly proximal, 23 x 1 mm; ray limb narrowly elliptic-oblong, 15-20 x 3-4.5 mm, four-veined, three apical lobes acute-obtuse, yellow above with reddish-purple abaxial surface; staminodes 5, filamentous; style branches linear, margins entire and patent, yellow, apices obtuse, stigmatic area uniform on adaxial surface, slight swelling on upper style below branches uniformly covered with acute papillae; mature cypsela obovoid-oblong, slightly compressed-terete, 2.3-2.5 x 1.11.4 mm, glossy, black or brownish-black, transversely rugose, glabrous except for short biseriate glandular trichomes on carpopodium on abaxial surface, abaxial ribs 3, lateral ribs forming shortly incurved wings with truncate-rounded teeth, median rib shorter than wings creating single linear furrow, adaxial ribs 2, not developed into wings; pappus absent. DISC FLORETS hermaphrodite, numerous; corolla funnelform, tube densely villous with biseriate glandular trichomes, 0.7-1.5 x 0.6 mm, limb narrowly campanulate, sparsely villous, 2-2.5 x 1.1-1.3 mm at mouth, lobes 5, narrowly triangular, apex acute, 1.5-2 mm long, marginal veins joining at sinuses, yellow; anthers yellow, 2.3-2.5 mm long, calcarate, ecaudate, apical appendage ovate, apex rounded to retuse; pollen yellow; filaments smooth, with slightly rounded outer cell walls; style terete, yellow, apical portion thickened with acute papillae, base of thickening with a ring of slightly longer papillae, shortly bilobed, lobes oblong, apices rounded; mature cypsela as for ray florets, 2.42.7 x 1.1-1.2 mm; pappus absent.