Erect or decumbent annual herb, sometimes cushion forming, 2-40 cm high, basally branched, and often also in the distal part of shoots, rarely unbranched. Stems green or rarely reddish; patently hispid. Basal leaves (30-)45-55(-75) x (2-)4(-8) mm, cauline leaves (7-)14-35(-55) x 1-4(-6) mm, gradually smaller distally, narrowly obovate, entire, adaxially densely hispid. Capitula (15-)20-25 mm in diameter. Involucre urceolate (the shape concealed by long white hairs), densely villous, becoming lignified with age, free parts of the phyllaries covering the entire involucre. Phyllaries (50-)60(-65), flexible, reddish black, outermost phyllaries setiform, c. 3-5 mm long, less than 0.5 mm broad (more or less formed by the midvein only), erecto-patent, densely villous, hairs white, gradually longer and more erect, towards centre; innermost phyllaries c. 8-12 x 1 mm, linear triangular, erecto-patent, hispid. Ray florets (12-)13(-14), c. 16 x 3 mm, longer than phyllaries, narrowly elliptic, 4-lobed, adaxially yellow, without darker basal spots, abaxially green, brown or rarely black, entirely or in stripes, corolla hairs more dense distally. Disc florets 20-30, yellow, peripheral florets hermaphroditic, central florets functionally male. Style more or less bifurcate (less so towards centre). Cypsela c. 4 mm long, asymmetrically pyriform, adaxially flattened, not ribbed, basally glabrous, ? distally villous, twin hairs twisted, scattered, small, globose glands. Pappus a minutely, fringed crown.
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