Mairia coriacea Bolus

Rosulate perennial herb, up to 180 cm high. Rhizome with succulent, ±200 x 3-4 mm dark brown to black roots; crown densely orange-brown silky hairy. Leaves ±5 or 6, sessile or petiolate, petiole up to 100 mm long, glabrous to lanate; blade mostly obovate, sometimes elliptic to broadly elliptic, 60-230 x 30-210 mm; apex obtuse to acute; margin entire or sometimes with few broad apical teeth, thickened, flat or revolute; distinctly net-veined with mostly 5, faintly curved main veins; glabrous on both surfaces or lanate to glabrescent adaxially and sparsely to densely lanate abaxially, leaf surface visible through indumentum; coriaceous, mostly flat or sometimes conduplicate, bright lime-green. Scapes 2 to 8, mostly 1-(rarely 2-)headed, (5-)30-100(-170) mm long, tinged dark purple upwards, ribbed, sparsely to densely white lanate and scattered dark red glandular, bracteate, bracts tinged dark purple, ±linear to narrowly obovate, 10-30 x 2-4 mm, apex acute, glabrous or sparsely lanate and glandular, axils densely lanate. Involucre broadly campanulate, 12-14(-15) x 17-22(-30) mm. Involucral bracts ±24 (to 30), in 3 or 4 series, imbricate; bracts of outer series narrowly ovate, 6-7(-11) x (1.5-)1.8-2.2(-3.0) mm, apex acute, with purplish, lanate-fimbriate margin, surface sparsely lanate, glandular; bracts of second series narrowly oblong, narrowly ovate or narrowly elliptic, 8.0-9.5(-12.0) x 1.8-2.0(-3.0) mm, apex acute, with narrowly membranous, purplish, lanate-fimbriate margin, surface sparsely lanate and glandular; bracts of third series narrowly obovate, 10.0-10.5(-12.0) x (1.5-)2.0-2.2 mm, apex acuminate, margin membranous, purplish, long fimbriate, surface glabrous or with few scattered hairs, glandular; bracts of inner series very narrowly obovate to oblong, 11-12(-16) x 1.3-2.0 mm, apex acuminate, margin membranous, purplish in upper part, long lanate-fimbriate, surface almost glabrous. Ray florets ±20, corolla pink to bright violet or whitish, 9.0-11.5(-30.0) mm long; limb linear, mostly 3 (sometimes 5 to 7)-nerved, apex 3-dentate, tube strongly glandular hairy. Style 5-7 mm long; style branches purplish, linear-elliptic, 1.0-1.5 mm long, apex obtuse. Staminodes present. Cypsela and pappus as in disc florets. Disc florets many, corolla 7.2-8.0 mm long, usually shorter than pappus; tube ±strongly glandular hairy; lobes recurved, often sparsely hairy and with marginal resin ducts. Anthers 1.5-2.0 mm long, with small triangular apical appendages. Style ±8 mm long; style branches narrowly elliptic, 1-2 mm long, dark red to purplish; style appendages deltoid, ±0.3 x 0.2 mm. Cypselae cylindrical to fusiform, 4.5-5.0 x 1.0-1.3 mm, bright to light brown, with 4 or 5 narrow, barely visible, ribs, with golden yellow, shiny glands and long silvery sericeous twin hairs, 0.70-0.75 mm long, apices distinctly unequal in length. Pappus biseriate, outer series of few delicate, free, reduced, plumose bristles, 2.7-3.0 mm long, whitish or straw-coloured; inner series of plumose bristles 6-9 mm long, cohering and barbellate basally, whitish or straw-coloured. Flowering time: December to August, usually after fire.