Many-stemmed, slender, much-branched shrubs, 0.4-1.0 m high. Old stems displaying anomalous secondary growth; young shoots bright green to light brown; older branches brown-black. Leaves mostly alternate, sometimes opposite near growing points and on brachyblasts, sessile on cushion-like thickenings, linear to linear-oblong to clavate, 3.5-10.5 x 0.6-0.8 mm, entire, rarely pinnatisect with 1 or 2 lobes, adaxially flattened, slightly broadened towards base and concave, abaxially convex or semiterete, distally cylindrical, leaf surface pitted and rough, glands in cavities, initially silvery sericeous, glabrescent and matt green, turning olive-green to olive-green-brown to almost black upon drying, apex obtuse to slightly acute; leaves on dolichoblasts and on brachyblasts of equal length. Capitula heterogamous radiate, 3.5-5.0 mm long, in terminal and lateral, umbellate racemes, each with 3-8 capitula; peduncles slender, 5-7 mm long, longer than subtending leaves on flowering shoots, sericeous. Involucral bracts 4 or 5, elliptic-oblong to broadly ovate, 1.8-2.7 x 1.2-1.7 mm, with central olive-green herbaceous part and broad membranous margin, abaxially sericeous to glabrous, some bracts slightly keeled, others flattened, margins fringed. Paleae: those of marginal florets connate into cylindrical sheath, 2.5-4.0 mm long, hard, coriaceous, apex and abaxial surface long-lanate; those of disc florets linear, 2.5 mm long, membranous, margins fringed, abaxially long-lanate. Ray florets 2 or 3, female, up to 6.3 mm long; corolla with distinct white lamina, 3.4-4.1 x 3.4-4.4 mm, broadly cuneate, 3-lobed. Style branches linear, flattened, 1.4-2.0 mm long, apex acute. Ovary oblong to obovoid, slightly trigonous. Seed flattish, trigonous, 1.7-2.0 mm long. Disc florets 8-12, 3.0-6.5 mm long, functionally male with sterile ovary; corolla tube infundibuliform to trumpet-shaped, yellow with red-purple tinge, 5-toothed. Style cylindrical, apex globose, with sweeping hairs. Stamens 5, slightly exserted at maturity. Receptacle after anthesis with long hairs between the involucral bracts and connate marginal paleae. Flowering time: mainly June to September, but January to March when it rains in summer.
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Many-stemmed, much-branched shrub, 0.4-1.0 m high. Leaves mostly alternate, sometimes opposite, linear to linear-oblong to clavate, entire, rarely with 1 or 2 lobes, initially silvery sericeous, glabrescent, matt green. Capitula radiate, in terminal and lateral, umbellate racemes, pedunculate. Peduncles longer than subtending leaves; involucral bracts 4 or 5, elliptic-oblong to broadly ovate, with broad membranous margins. Receptacle paleate, those of ray florets connate, hairy on outside, those of disc florets free. Ray florets 2 or 3, white. Disc florets 8-12, infundibuliform to trumpet-shaped, yellow with red-purple tinge. Flowering time Mar. Pappus absent. Cypselae oblong to obovoid, slightly trigonous.
Like E. africanus but leaves ± equal, punctate and often glabrous.
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