Plants winter annual or biennial, candelabra-form. Stems solitary, erect, straight; branches mostly distal, proximal longer than distal, all usually extending to near the distal end of plant, antrorse, straight; hairy. Leaves: blade 22–115 × 2.8–10.9(–17.2) mm, widest intersinus distance 2.2–7(–9) mm; proximal oblanceolate, elliptic, or lanceolate, margins dentate, teeth 10–24(–38), perpendicular to leaf axis, 0.5–4 mm; distal elliptic to lanceolate, base not clasping, margins dentate, teeth 8–20, perpendicular to leaf axis, 0.3–5.6 mm; abaxial surface with simple grappling-hook, complex grappling-hook, and usually with needlelike trichomes, adaxial surface with simple grappling-hook and needlelike trichomes. Bracts: margins entire. Flowers: petals golden yellow, 8–14.4 × 2.1–3.9 mm, apex acute, hairy abaxially; stamens golden yellow, 5 outermost petaloid, filaments narrowly spatulate, slightly clawed, 5.5–11.1 × 1.2–2.9 mm, with anthers, second whorl with anthers; anthers straight after dehiscence, epidermis papillate; styles 5.3–10 mm. Capsules cylindric, 7–14.6 × 3.5–6.7 mm, base tapering, not longitudinally ridged. Seeds: coat anticlinal cell walls straight to slightly wavy, papillae 4–10 per cell. 2n = 20.
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