Leucoptera subcarnosa B.Nord.

A low shrublet; stems and branches short, often decumbent, up to 10 cm long or seldom longer. Leaves alternate (or rarely subopposite), rather closely set on young branches, more scattered on older branches, linear-oblanceolate, somewhat narrowed towards the base, 0.5-3(-4) cm long, 1-2.5(-4) mm wide, entire or some 2-3(-4)-toothed or-lobed above the middle, somewhat fleshy, terete or flattened, slightly greyish green, smooth, mostly obtuse and minutely apiculate, sometimes with rounded tips. Peduncles erect, 5-30 cm long, terete, smooth or faintly striate. Involucre 1-1.5 cm wide, consisting of 8-9 outer and 8-9 inner involucral bracts. Outer involucral bracts broadly ovate-rounded-elliptic with obtuse-rounded tips, 2.5-8 mm long, 3-5 mm wide, indistinctly many-veined, herbaceous with membranous margins and tips. Inner involucral bracts shorter than the largest outer ones, submembranous, ± oblong, truncate or premorse. Receptacle convex, nude. Ray-florets usually ca 8(6-11). Tube ca 1.5 mm long, somewhat flattened, sparsely glandular. Lamina elliptic-oblong-oblong-obovate,4-10 mm long, 2.5-5 mm wide, usually with 4 main veins and 0-3 additional ± incomplete veins, white, eventually often pink or reddish and revolute, apically 3-toothed or subentire. Style branches oblong, flattened, somewhat marginate, with an elongated central resin excretion. Disc-florets 20-50. Corolla 3.5-4 mm long. Tube 1.5-2 mm long, subcylindrical, glandular. Limb campanulate, ca 2 mm long; lobes triangular-ovate, ca 1 mm long, without midvein or resin gland. Anthers 1.2-1.3 mm long inch the ovate-cordate or broadly triangular-ovate obtuse appendage. Style branches ca 0.7 mm long, oblong, with a central resin excretion, truncate. Achenes oblong-obovate-elliptic-rounded in outline, 3-4 mm long, 2-3.5 mm wide, glossy white or bone-white, with 2 incomplete resin ducts. Median pappus scale orbicular-broadly obovate, 1.5-2.5 mm long and wide, white, sometimes with a light purplish tinge. Sublateral pappus scales oblong-rounded, 0.7-1.5 mm long and wide. Pollen grains ca 40 x 43 ? (spines included). Exine ca 11 ? thick, usually equally thick at poles and equator. Supratectal spines ca 3 ? long, pointed with solid tips superimposed upon a minute spheroidal hole. Total number of spines in one pollen grain ca 40 (10-12 in one mesocolpium), spaced approximately 8-9 ? from each other. Tectum continuous, undulated, slightly less than 1 ? thick, consisting of minute intratectal bacula faintly discernible in optical cross-section. Tectum bulging below spiny processes, amalgamating with the latter to a supratectal spiny unit ca 5 p high and 5 p wide at the base. Infratectal bacula 2-4 ? long, usually branched distally, occasionally detached from the undelying nexine. Nexine compact, ca 1 ? thick, slightly thicker in the apertural areas. Colpi ca 13 x 5 ? with somewhat acute ends.