Gorteria alienata (Thunb.) Stångb. & Anderb.

Shrublet, 25-60 cm high. Young stems reddish; sparsely, patently hispid, rarely glabrous. Leaves 4-15 x 1-2 mm, oblong, entire, mucronate, on older parts leaves congregated on brachyblasts, margins strongly revolute (woolly hairs abaxially often hidden by revolute margins), adaxially hispid-almost glabrous with only scattered hairs c. 1 mm, leaf base always with a few longer hairs (c. 1.5 mm). Capitula c. 40 mm. Involucre campanulate becoming somewhat lignified with age, free parts of the phyllaries cover the entire involucre. Phyllaries c. 25-35(-40), midveins becoming strongly lignified, sparsely hispid, margins hispid-serrulate; erecto-patent-patent, narrowly triangular, gradually longer towards centre; outermost phyllaries c. 2.5-5 x 0.7 mm, innermost phyllaries c. 5-11 x 1-1.7 mm, narrowly-linear triangular, sometimes acuminate, margins membranous, serrulate. Ray florets (12-)13(-14), c. 20-30 x 3-7 mm, longer than phyllaries, narrowly elliptic, 4-lobed, adaxially yellow, base adaxially with or without bright yellow markings, abaxially with a median blackish or brownish stripe, occasionally glandular hairs. Disc florets c. 20-30(-40), yellow; 1-2 hermaphroditic the others functionally male. Anther endothecium sometimes with a rectangular crystal in each cell. Styles equally bifurcate. Cypsela c. 3 mm long, turbinate, not ribbed, densely villous, cypsela enclosed by twin hairs; twin hairs not twisted, scattered globose glandular hairs. Pappus of scales, biseriate 10+10, outermost c. 3-8 mm long, narrowly triangular, irregular lobed, acuminate, bristle-like ends, serrulate margins, innermost much smaller than outer, c. 0.4 mm long, subulate.