Hirpicium gazanioides (Harv.) Roessler

An erect annual herb, 5-40 cm tall, branched from near the base. Branches leafy, hispid, beset with scattered 1-3 mm long patent whitish bristles. Leaves 2-7.5 x 0.4-1.5 cm, elliptic to narrowly oblanceolate, tapering into a petiole-like base to c. 2 cm long, entire or sometimes lobed, apex subobtuse mucronulate, margins ± revolute; upper surface scabrid-hispid, densely beset with conical whitish spinules which grade into scattered conical-based spine-like bristles up to 4 mm long, the latter usually most numerous towards the leaf base; lower surface whitish or greyish lanate-tomentose except for the mid-nerve. Capitula terminal on branches, sessile and subtended by 3-many leaves which usually exceed the involucre in length. Involucres 15-30 mm in diam., the connate part broadly obconic to hemispheric, mostly glabrous; outer phyllaries with free portions 10-20 x 0.5 mm, linear, bristle-Upped, pectinately ciliate on the margins with 10-20 or more bristles 2-3 mm long on each side; innermost phyllaries with free portions 6-10 x 1-3 mm, narrowly triangular, acute to tapering acuminate, barbellate on the margins, membranous with a narrow dark-purple central part and broad margins. Receptacle shallowly alveolate. Rays yellow, 20-25 mm long, linear-elliptic. Disk-floret corollas yellow, c. 8 mm long, deeply lobed, thinly araneose outside especially on lobes; achenes 4-6 mm long, narrowly obconic, 10-12-ribbed, glandular, densely long-sericeous; pappus scales 2-seriate, brownish hyaline, the outer ones 5-7 mm long, oblong-lanceolate, overlapping, the inner ones 2.5-3 mm long, oblong-ovate, stipitate.