Metalasia calcicola P.O.Karis

Erect shrublet, sparingly to much-branched, up to 1 m high. Branches erect, young densely whitish or greyish-tomentose, older becoming less tomentose, with a conspicuous tomentum remaining for at least 3-4 seasons, with distinct leaf-scars. Foliage dense. Leaves spreading, strongly incurvate, with axillary brachyblasts about as long as the subtending leaf, slightly involute and flat above, to involute and canaliculate, oblanceolate to obovate, 1.6-3.7 x 0.5-2.0 mm, acute to obtuse, non-twisted to slightly twisted, sparsely pubescent, with a distinct midvein. Synflorescenses 15-30 mm wide, dense, conspicuously branched, with numerous capitula arranged in 5-20 slightly branched clusters, each containing few to 15 capitula. Peduncles 3-9 mm long. Capitula 3-5-flowered, sessile, or with pedicels up to 2 mm long, free from one another, lower 2/3 of each capitulum hairy. Involucre narrowly cyathiform, apically 1.5-3 mm wide. Involucral bracts in (6-)7-9 series, gradually longer inwards, outermost about 1/5-1/3(-1/2) as long as the innermost, most bracts not petaloid, outermost subfoliaceous to scarious, those inwards more scarious to petaloid, outermost ovate to subulate-lanceolate, those inwards lanceolate to narrowly oblong to narrowly oblanceolate, inner and innermost usually with narrow to broad hyaline margins and conspicuously transparent above the stereome, outermost acute, outer to inner acute to acuminate, innermost truncate and irregularly dentate to emarginate and rarely plicate, outermost apically erect, those inwards erect-spreading to erect, outermost with interlocking hairs reaching above the middle of the bract, those inwards less hairy to glabrous, outermost dark brown, those inwards light brown to white, innermost with a stereome about 1-1.5 times as long as the lamina. Corolla narrowly cylindrical, 2.9-3.6 mm long, sometimes with a rigid resiniferous base; lobes erect-spreading to erect. Anthers usually rounded or sometimes truncate apically. Cypselas oblong to narrowly oblong-ovoid, 1.4-1.6 mm long, without an annular ridge, with short acute papillae, brown. Pappus bristles with a serrate to acutely dentate and very narrow to narrow shaft, apically flattened to flat and slightly serrate to entire, mostly thickened or sometimes subterete towards the very apex, usually acute.