Cineraria erodioides Dc.

Perennial suffrutex, to c. 1 m tall, occasionally taller if straggling through surrounding vegetation. Stems herbaceous to woody at the base, erect, branching, cobwebby to softly hairy, glabrescent (to glabrous in some low-altitude forms in the Eastern Cape). Leaves reniform to deltoid-reniform in outline, (occasionally to deltoid in uppermost leaves), shallowly to deeply lobed, 5-7-lobed, sometimes with lateral pinnae below lamina; lamina 10 x 50(-70)-10 x 71(-90) mm, thinly cobwebby to glabrescent or sparsely hairy or glabrous above, (thinly to) thickly cobwebby or sparsely hairy or hairy below, glabrescent, young leaves often white woolly or rarely grey-canescent above and tomentose white or grey below (var. tomentosa); apex rounded to obtuse; margin dentate; base truncate to subcordate to cordate; petiole 4-64(-95) mm long, cobwebby or sparsely hairy to hairy; auricles usually very conspicuous, auriform, dentate and characteristically running up petiole to varying degrees. Capitula heterogamous, radiate, few (4-12) to many (18-96) per stem branch arranged in fairly lax corymbose panicles; peduncles (3-)5-27(-41) mm long, occasionally longer (to 72 mm) in high altitude forms with large capitula, cobwebby, glabrescent, or sparsely hairy, occasionally glabrous, bracteate. Involucre calyculate; phyllaries 8-13, (3-)4-5 mm long, glabrous or cobwebby, glabrescent, often remaining cobwebby only at base amongst calyculus bracts; margins scarious. Ray florets 5-8(-13), 5.5-9.0 mm long; limb 3.0-6.5 mm long, 4(-5)-veined. Disc florets (20-)25-40(-80) (rarely as few as c.14 in low altitude forms); corolla (3.0-)3.5-5.0 mm long. Cypselae obovate, compressed, winged, with a distinct, pale narrow wing (or broad wing, especially on rays), to distinctly margined, then appearing narrow-winged when younger, dark brown with paler brown wing or margin, (2.0-)2.5-2.8 mm long, ciliate with sparsely hairy or glabrous faces or entirely glabrous (occasionally with a few hairs on ‘shoulders’). Pappus 3-4 mm long.