Heterolepis mitis Dc.

Habit: small, slender, sparsely-to well-branched shrublet, 0.15-0.3 m high. Stems: young stems green, sparsely glandular. Older stems twiggy, to 4.0 mm diameter, bark thick relative to stem diameter, stems marked with old leaf scars. Leaves: borne only towards the ends of the branches, loosely imbricate, uppermost leaves more densely-spaced, at least partially overlapping the capitulum; erect to spreading; linear-oblanceolate, 8-24 x 0.3-1.5 mm, not becoming smaller acropetally; narrowed towards base, sessile to very shortly petiolate, apex acute with a distinct mucro, thin and smooth-textured, margins narrowly revolute, entire, both leaf surfaces dark green, glabrous and sparsely to densely obscurely glandular, glands sunken into leaf surface to give a slightly pitted (foveolate) appearance, resinous, pitted and wrinkled on drying, midrib slightly raised on abaxial surface. Peduncle: capitula sessile, or peduncle 1-2 mm long, glandular with trichome type A, trichomes on peduncle larger than those on the adjacent stem. Capitula: radiate, in pressed specimens 22-30 mm in diameter including expanded rays, with ~44 disc and ~2-16 ray florets (note: this number based on only two dissected specimens). Involucre: 7-12 mm wide, fleshy portion sparsely dotted with very small pale glands; outermost bracts only slightly smaller than middle or inner, narrowly deltoid-lanceolate, free portion 5-7 x 0.8-1.0 mm, apically acute; inner bracts with free portion 8-10 x 2.0-4.0 mm. Involucre becoming dark brown when old. Receptacle: alveoles pentamerous, margins with short toothlike projections 0.5 mm long, a tooth at each of the five corners of each alveole. Ray florets: corolla deep yellow, corolla tube glabrous or with a few scattered glands, ± 4.5 mm long; ray lamina 3.0-4.0 x 7.5-9.0 mm, abaxial surface of lamina lobes apically gland-dotted with small, rounded trichomes. Staminodes with filaments; staminode tails rounded and incurved, apical appendages obtuse. Cypsela and pappus as in disc florets. Disc florets: deep yellow, tube 6.0 mm long; corolla lobes 2.5-3.0 mm long, becoming strongly recurved after anthesis, apically dotted with globose multicellular trichomes. Style extending ± 5 mm beyond corolla tube at maturity, becoming densely papillate at a slight thickening ~2.0-3.0 mm below apex, thickening without a longer tuft of sweeping hairs. Stigmatic branches short, narrowing slightly to rounded apices. Apical anther appendages about 1.0 mm long, obtuse with short mucro-like structure, central vein with dark yellow pigment near apex. Anther tails about 0.07 mm long, broadly acute, slightly curved inwards. Pappus: of approximately 20 robust, brittle, strap-shaped cartilaginous bristle-like scales, apically tinged strongly blue-black, colour fading to base which is straw-coloured and shiny; flattened and widened near base (to about 0.13 mm wide), tapering towards apex. Inner series of ± 10 bristles, 8-9 mm long, slightly longer than the full length of the corolla, narrowing towards the apex where the barbs become longer and increasingly dense. Outer series of ± 10 bristles, slightly narrower and much shorter than inner series, ± 3 mm long, apically more sparsely barbellate than inner bristles. Pappus elements free. Cypsela: twin-hairs bright white, providing a strong colour contrast to the pappus bristles. Recorded in flower in January, April, August, October and December, despite the small number of records. Possibly the plant flowers continuously throughout the year, or sporadically, depending on rainfall.