Callilepis leptophylla Harv.

Erect, perennial herb, 30-60 cm high with the stems arising from a large woody rootstock, glabrous on the lower parts, leaves and younger branches sometimes softly villous, closely branched and leafy below, the younger branches with the leaves closer arranged towards the apices, while the stem and flowering branches continue terminally into a more sparsely leafy peduncle which carries the solitary flower-heads. Branches striate, green, erect-ascending. Leaves up to 4.5 cm long, green, alternate, sessile, one-nerved, linear, acuminate, entire or sometimes dentate, somewhat margined. Flower-head up to 1.8 cm or more in diameter excluding the ligules, heterogamous with marginal female ray-florets and inner bisexual disc-florets. Involucre campanulate, of bracts imbricated in 3 rows; bracts 7 mm long, narrowly ovate-linear, acuminate, somewhat glabrous, one-nerved, purplish tinged at the apices. Receptacle conical, paleate; paleae boat-shaped, keeled, 7 mm long, clasping the florets, fimbriated on the margins and winged keel, with a purplish acuminate beak at the apex. Ray-florets 27-31, fertile; tube greenish, 3 mm long, glabrous; limb white or creamy, broadly elliptic, 3-toothed at the apex, 13.5 mm long; staminodes up to 5; style 6 mm long, terete, somewhat swollen at the base, divided; style-branches up to 1 mm long, linear, obtuse; ovary 3.5-4.0 mm long, glabrous, 3-winged, produced at the angles into 3 beaks; beaks keeled, fimbriated on the margins and keel, of unequal length, the longest beak 3.5 mm long, the shortest beak 1-2 mm long; pappus of a few fimbriated paleae, about 0.5 mm long. Disc-florets about 120, fertile; corolla-tube 5.5 mm long, tubular below, subcampanulate and dark purple in the upper half, 5-lobed; lobes 1.5 mm long, narrowly ovate; anthers 3 mm long, dark purple, linear with a small ovate apical appendage, tailed at the base with the tails hairy; style 6 mm long, terete, somewhat swollen at the base, divided; style-branches linear, obtuse, whitish, 1 mm long; ovary compressed, obovate, glabrous, 4 mm long with the margins somewhat narrowly winged and produced into 2 beaks; beaks keeled, fimbriated on the margins and keel, of unequal length-longest beak 3 mm long, smaller beak up to 2 mm long; pappus resembling those of the ray-florets. Flowers in spring.