Cephalaria rigida (L.) Schrad.

Multi-stemmed subshrub, 70-100 cm high, resprouting from thickened, woody rootstock. Flowering stems erect, leafy throughout, 6-angled, softly woody at base and 3-4 mm diam. at base, minutely hispid in longitudinal bands between leaf bases with short spreading or de?exed hairs mixed with scattered bristle-like hairs but subglabrous along angles. Leaves cauline, decussate, suberect or spreading to de?exed, sessile or narrowed to petiole-like base, all upper leaves with axillary shoots, blade elliptic or lanceolate to oblanceolate, some-times lyrate with an additional spreading, lanceolate lobe on each side near base, 30-90 x (5-)10-20 mm, acuminate, margins shallowly to deeply serrate with 4-15 primary teeth on each side, teeth apically decurved and tipped with short bristle, margins weakly revolute, densely or sparsely appressed-hispid to subglabrous adaxially and along margins, hispid along midrib beneath (sometimes only towards base), leathery, glossy dark green above when fresh and paler beneath, leaf bases shortly connate, hispid. In?orescence solitary or up to three dense, globose capitula 15-25 mm diam., peduncles hispid basally but otherwise glabrous. Involucral bracts broadly ovate, 4-6 x 4 mm, obtuse to acute, densely appressed-sericeous, margins ciliate; receptacle bracts elliptic-lanceolate, ± 7 x 2 mm, apically acute or recurved-attenuate, densely and shortly appressed-sericeous in distal half, submembranous along margins basally. Epicalyx cupular, ± 3 mm long at ?owering, with four subulate teeth 0.5-1.0 mm long, densely appressed-pubescent. Calyx patelliform, minutely ± 16-toothed, densely pubescent. Corolla creamy white, 8-12 mm long, densely pubescent externally, tube villous in distal half within, otherwise glabrous. Stamens 4, exserted. Ovary ± 2 mm long; stigma oblique, elliptic and much wider than style. Fruit oblong, 4-ribbed and 8-furrowed, 6 x 4 mm, appressed-pubescent.