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Leaves sessile, 2–8 cm. long and 1–2 mm. broad, linear, usually with 1–3 linear lobes 1–10 mm. long on each side; leaf and lobe apices tipped with broad-based rigid white spinules 0.5–2 mm. long; margins ± revolute with up to c. 20 spaced white spine-like bristles 1–3 mm. long on each side; lamina hispid with scattered spinules up to 0.5 mm. long, particularly on the upper surface, glandular-hairy, not tomentose below.
Procumbent to erect perennial herb, 50-400 mm tall. Leaves sessile, linear, entire or pinnatifid, shortly bristly, with scattered longer bristles on margins and apices; lower surface exposed. Flowerheads radiate, solitary; involucral bracts glandular-pubescent, shortly spine-tipped; ray florets yellow, brown on back; disc florets yellow.
Involucres 8–15 mm. in diam., the connate part obconic to hemispheric, glandular pubescent-pilose; outer phyllaries 2–4 x 0.5–1 mm., subulate and ± reflexed, spinescent-acuminate, spinose-ciliate; the inner c. 2 series 7–12 x 2–4 mm., ovate-lanceolate, long acuminate-spinose, with margins broadly hyaline, entire or ± spinose-ciliate.
Disk-floret corollas yellow, c. 7 mm. long, deeply lobed; achenes 3–5 mm. long, ± stipitate-turbinate, densely long-sericeous with hairs equalling the pappus; pappus scales 2-seriate, the outer 2.5–6 mm. long, lanceolate-attenuate, hyaline overlapping; the inner c. 1 mm. long, oblong-ovate, shortly stipitate.
Stems tufted and densely leafy from the rootcrown, or bushy and strongly branched from the base; sometimes in older plants stems procumbent woody and tufted-leafy at the nodes; branches decumbent to ascending, leafy, ± densely glandular-hairy, becoming woody at the base.
A prickly caespitose or bushy, somewhat aromatic perennial herb up to c. 40 cm. tall, from a long slenderwoody taproot.
Ray-florets uniseriate, rays 10–15 mm. long, linear, yellow usually with a purplish transverse band.
Capitula many, terminal on leafless glandular-hairy stalks 1.5–10 cm. long.
Receptacle deeply alveolate.
