Gnaphalium pauciflorum Dc.

Small annual herb, stems 10-130 mm long, several from the crown, erect or decumbent, simple or branched, white-woolly, leafy. Leaves 5-15(-20) x 1-1.5(-3) mm, linear-spathulate, or rarely oblong-spathulate, acute, mucronate, both surfaces white-tomentose. Heads c. 3 x 1.5-2.5 mm, solitary or few opposite the upper leaves, generally much congested, forming small clusters overtopped by leaves, or, in well-grown specimens, racemosely arranged. Involucral bracts in 3 series, outermost elliptic, inner lanceolate, subacute to acuminate or occasionally truncate, lamina pellucid, straw-coloured or golden-brown tinged purple, tips exceeding flowers, buff-coloured, opaque or subopaque, often somewhat recurved when acuminate, usually ± lacerate. Receptacle tuberculate. Flowers 20-94,16-84 ('female'), 4-10 ('bisexual'), in the proportion 3-10:1, all, or ('bisexual') only, purple-tipped. Achenes 0.75 mm long, with duplex hairs. Pappus bristles on ('female') flowers scabridulous, bases either dilated and fused and then persistent, or dilations ill-developed and then bristles free and caducous; of ('bisexual') flowers with subplumose tips, bases scarcely dilated, not cohering, soon caducous.