Shrubs to 8 m tall, with few to many branches; stems dark near tips, becoming pale in older parts, terete to slightly hexagonal, slightly striate, glabrous to very sparsely pilose. Leaves opposite; blades narrowly elliptical, to 23 cm long and 5 cm wide, the base narrowly cuneate with short spreading secondary veins, the margins closely serrate, the apex narrowly acute to slightly acuminate, the surfaces glabrous, a few hairs on the veins below, the veins pinnate, the lacticifers in the areoles prominent; petioles short, 0.5-1.5 cm long. Inflorescence pyramidally paniculate with densely corymbose branches, the branches puberulous or short-pilose, the ultimate branches 0.1 mm long. Heads 6-7 mm high with 5 florets; involucral bracts ca. 20, imbricate to subimbricate, in 4-5 series, 1-5 mm long, to 1.5 mm wide, ovate to oblong-elliptical with rounded apex, papyraceous with usually 4 slender costae, glabrous on outer surface; corolla white, 4.0-4.5 mm long, broadly tubular with narrowly funnelform limb, glabrous, the lobes 0.5-0.7 mm long, twice as long as wide; style branches slightly broadened distally. Achenes ca. 2.5 mm long, with broad pale ribs, densely setiferous, the achene base very narrow with minute carpopodium; pappus of ca. 25-30 slender bristles, 3-4 mm long, the tips slightly but distinctly broadened.
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