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Perennial (less often annual or biennial) herbs. Leaves mostly rosulate. Capitula solitary or corymbose; involucre cylindric-campanulate; phyllaries unequal, the outermost short and often extending down the stalk, the inner in two series, often becoming keeled and slightly inflated proximally; receptacle naked, rarely fimbriate or paleate. Florets many; corolla usually yellow or white; anthers sagittate, the auricles acute or acuminate; style branches long, slender. Achenes lengthening considerably after anthesis, becoming narrowly terete or fusiform, many-ribbed, distally attenuate or with a long beak; pappus of barbellate bristles.
Fls all ligulate and perfect, yellow; invol cylindric or campanulate, the principal bracts in 1 or 2 equal or subequal series, the reduced outer ones few or many; receptacle naked; achenes terete or subterete, fusiform or nearly columnar, sometimes beaked, 10–20-ribbed; pappus of numerous whitish capillary bristles; herbs with milky juice, mostly (incl. all our spp.) taprooted or with several strong roots; lvs alternate, entire to bipinnatifid, ± basally disposed, the cauline progressively reduced, the uppermost bract-like. Nearly 200, N. Hemisphere.
Annual or biennial herbs, branching, or stemless in C. pusilla. Hairs simple, glandular and eglandular. Leaves predominantly basal. Inflorescences cymose or paniculate. Capitula usually pedunculate (sessile in C. pusilla): involucral bracts biseriate; inner bracts mostly hardened, strongly convex and erect at maturity. Florets: ligule yellow. Achenes homomorphic or slightly dimorphic; sometimes slightly compressed, beaked or not. Pappus of bristles, persistent or not; bristles minutely scabridulous, uniform within pappus.
Florets numerous, yellow, rarely white or pink; ligules usually longer than the tube; anthers sagittate at the base, auricles acute or shortly setaceous-acuminate; style branches long slender, sweeping-hairs medium to long.
Perennial (annual or biennial) herbs, subscapose from semi-woody rootstocks in the Flora Zambesiaca area, or caulescent, hispid or glandular-setose sometimes also tomentellous, or glabrous.
Phyllaries 2-several-seriate, the inner often thickening or carinate and longer than the outer in friuting capitula.
Leaves radical and rosulate, or cauline and alternate, entire to coarsely toothed (or pinnatifid).
Achenes homomorphic, subterete, sometimes attenuate into an apical beak, uniformly many-ribbed.
Pappus 1-many-seriate of shortly barbellate, persistent (deciduous) setae.
Capitula solitary, or few to many corymbosely (paniculately) arranged.
Receptacle epaleate, pitted, fimbrilliferous.
Stems or flowering stalks erect, 1-several.
Involucres cylindric-campanulate.
