Slender, erect annual, 10–50 cm high, usually with a much-branched inflorescence, occasionally a bushy plant with congested branches; taproot slender; stems sparsely arachnose and setose, with ascending scale-like bristles up to 1 mm long.. Leaves sessile, decreasing upwards in size, linear-lanceolate or linear-oblanceolate, sometimes arcuate and contorted, 4.8–6 cm long, 1.5–3 mm wide, tapering to a pseudo-petiole and a clasping base or widening to base, obtuse, often spinescent, entire, sometimes revolute, setose along margins with longer setae at base and shorter setose hairs towards tip, green with short robust setae above, whitish-lanate beneath.. Capitula heterogamous, terminal, solitary or ± racemose on main stems and longer branches, or ± laxly clustered, each usually with distinct leafless stalk above uppermost leaves, ovoid, 7–10 mm diameter; involucre 3–4-seriate, obconical, phyllaries stiff, erect, green with purplish tips, connate for at least 1/2 their length, awl-shaped, 4–8 mm long, 0.5–1 mm wide, acute, inner phyllaries broader with free part triangular; all acuminate and often spinescent, setose and/or arachnose outside, margins short-setose or denticulate; receptacle minute with united erose scales up to 2.5 mm long, forming walls round the achenes.. Ray florets yellow, few, ± erect, obovate, tubular for 1/2 their length, 5–8 mm long, 0.7–1.5 mm wide with 2–3 apical teeth and 4 veins, glabrous.. Disc florets bisexual, yellow, divided into lobes for 1/3 of their length, 4 mm long, lobes linear, 1.25 mm long, acute, minutely papillose.. Achenes enclosed by pit walls, ± turbinate, 1.5–3.25 mm long, 1.5 mm wide, surface honeycomb-like, sticky, densely hairy, hairs mostly from base, varying in length, the longest at least equalling the length of the achene; pappus uniseriate, free, of 8–12 scales, each scale with a dark central zone, oblong or obovate, acuminate to long-acuminate, erose to deeply erose or laciniate in upper part, 1.5–2 mm long.
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Involucres mostly 5–8 mm. in diam., the connate part 3–5 x 3–5 mm., obconic, araneose-lanate and with a few small scale-like bristles mainly on the midrib; outer phyllaries with their free portions 2–4 mm. long, subulate, minutely spinose-denticulate on the margins; inner phyllaries with their free portions 4–6 mm. long and c. 1.5 mm. wide at the base, triangular with a thick midrib continued into a pungent apex, margins barbellate-denticulate.
Leaves sessile, mostly 1.5–7 x 0.1–0.5 cm., linear or linear-lanceolate, becoming bract-like on the upper stem and branches, occasionally the lower leaves to c. 8 mm. wide, entire, acute to subacute mucronulate, margins revolute ciliate towards the base usually with 4–10 bristles c. 1.5–3 mm. long on each side; upper surface scabrous with very short conical whitish spinules; lower surface whitish lanate-araneose except for the midrib.
Disk-floret corollas yellow, 2.5–3.5 mm. long; achenes 2–3 mm. long, obconic, glandular-viscid with glands in 10–12 broad longitudinal bands, sparsely whitish sericeous with hairs just exceeding the achene; pappus scales uniseriate, brownish hyaline, overlapping, 2–3.5 mm. long, ovate-lanceolate in outline, fimbriate-setose about the apex.
Stems erect branched leafy, whitish thinly-araneose and hispid with ascending brownish or purple ± flattened scale-like bristles up to c. 1 mm. long; branches ascending 1–40 cm. long, leafy.
Ray-florets mostly 2–6, seldom overtopping the involucre, 5–6 mm. long, rays pale yellow often purplish outside.
Capitula terminal, or ± racemose on simple stems and the longer branches, or ± laxly clustered.
Receptacle alveolae deep, membranous, exceeding the achene in length.
A slender, or somewhat bushy, wiry annual herb 10–90 cm. tall.
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