Cotula sericea L.F.

Tufted, rhizomatous perennial, forming small mats, stems decumbent, woody at base, leafy at branch tips. Leaves opposite, imbricate, conspicuolusly petiolate, petiole (8-)10-25 mm long, base dilated and half-clasping, connate with opposite member for ±2 mm and sheathing stem, blade ovate-orbicular in outline, 5-20 x 5-15 mm, ± palmately bipinnate, lobes terete, obtuse, silvery sericeous with a mixture of spreading or ± appressed, dense, velutinous hairs ±0.5 mm long and sparse, longer, straggling hairs ±2 mm long, sheathing bases persistent and covering stems. Capitula discoid, homogamous, solitary on terminal, leafless, scapose peduncle 100-300 mm long, peduncle pubescent at base with vestiture as on leaves but rapidly glabrescent and glabrous for most of length, reddish or golden brown. Involucre adppressed-globose, 7-8 mm diam.; phyllaries 3-seriate, oblong, outermost 2 x 1 mm, innermost 4 x 1.5 mm, obtuse, glabrous, with broad, scarious margins and tips up to 0.7 mm wide, margins minutely erose distally, stereome green suffused with purple around edges and with solitary, dark purple, median resinous vein. Florets numerous, sessile, yellow; corolla 4-lobed, ±2 mm long, campanulate with lower cylindrical portion ±1 mm long, lower portion of tube compressed and slightly winged, rugose and sparsely puberulous with twin-hairs, shortly ear-frilled at base. Anthers ±1 mm long including ovate apical appendage; base apiculate; filament collar cylindrical. Ovary ellipsoid and slightly compressed, with inner face flat and outer face convex, ±1.5 mm long; style terete with swollen base, branching below mouth of tube, scarcely exserted, branches ±0.3 mm long, lateral margins stigmatic, apices truncate with crown of papillae. Cypselas ellipsoid-obovoid and slightly compressed, faces slightly convex and weakly longitudinally keeled, with marginal rim but not evidently winged, glabrous.