Metalasia alfredii Pillans

Compact much-branched shrublet, 0.5-1 m high. Branches erect, young densely whitish-tomentose, older becoming less tomentose, with mostly indistinct leaf-scars. Foliage dense to very dense. Leaves spreading to erect-spreading, straight, without or with axillary brachyblasts more than half as long as the subtending leaf, slightly to much involute, often oblanceolate to narrowly obovate, sometimes subspathulate or narrowly oblong, 2.0-9.0 x 0.7-3.0 mm, usually acute to acuminate, or sometimes obtuse, non-twisted or about half-twisted, densely pubescent at least towards the base when young, soon becoming glabrous or subglabrous, with an indistinct midvein towards the base. Synflorescenses (5-)10-15(-20) mm wide, dense, obconical to campanulate, with few to 12 usually individually arranged capitula; some capitula sometimes arranged in seemingly unbranched clusters containing few capitula. Peduncles 0-1 mm long. Capitula (4-)5-6-flowered, sessile, free from one another, lower 1/2-2/3 of each capitulum hairy. Involucre often narrowly campanulate, apically 2-5 mm wide. Involucral bracts in 4-6 series, gradually longer inwards, outermost about 1/2-3/4 as long as the innermost, most bracts not petaloid, outermost scarious, those inwards scarious to petaloid, outermost lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate, those inwards lanceolate to narrowly oblanceolate, inner and innermost usually with narrow to broad hyaline margins, outermost acuminate, those inwards shortly acuminate or rarely rounded to truncate, outermost apically mostly erect, those inwards erect-spreading to spreading and plicate, outermost and outer often irregularly serrate, outermost with interlocking hairs reaching almost throughout the bract, those inwards less hairy to glabrous, outermost brownish, those inwards rarely reddish above the stereome but otherwise more white, innermost with a stereome about 0.8-1.2 times as long as the lamina. Corolla narrowly cylindrical, 4.5 mm long; lobes erect-spreading to erect. Anthers apically rounded. Cypselas narrowly oblong to narrowly oblong-ovoid, 2.5-2.9 mm long, without an annular ridge, with short acute papillae, dark brown. Pappus bristles with a serrate to acutely dentate and very narrow shaft, apically flattened and serrate to almost entire, subterete towards the very apex, acute to obtuse.