Metalasia capitata Less.

Shrublet, decumbent or sometimes erect, sparingly to much-branched, up to 1 m high but usually not exceeding 0.5 m. Branches ascending to erect, young densely whitish-tomentose, older becoming less tomentose, with distinct leaf-scars. Foliage on flowering shoots dense, on older branches dense to sparse. Leaves ± straight, on flowering shoots erect, imbricate, non-twisted and without axillary brachyblasts; on older branches declinate to spreading, about half-twisted and with axillary brachyblasts less than half as long as the subtending leaf, involute to much involute, narrowly ovate to narrowly lanceolate, sometimes linear-lanceolate, 1.5-13 x 0.5-1.5 mm, acute, sparsely tomentose to glabrous, midvein invisible. Synflorescenses 10-20(-25) mm wide, very dense, seemingly unbranched, with several leaves appressed underneath, with 20 to numerous capitula arranged in scarcely detectable clusters, each containing few to 5 capitula; some individually arranged capitula also present. Peduncles mostly absent, or sometimes up to 2 mm long. Capitula 3(-4, occasionally 5)-flowered, sessile, free from one another but very closely set, only lowermost part of each capitulum hairy, (this is easily seen if the subtending leaves are removed). Involucre cyathiform to narrowly campanulate, apically 1.5-3 mm wide, sometimes up to 4 mm wide at anthesis. Involucral bracts in 3-5 series, of sub-equal length, comparatively thin and membraneous, outermost subfoliaceous to subpetaloid, those inwards petaloid, outermost lanceolate to subspathulate, those inwards narrowly ovate to oblanceolate, all except outermost with narrow to broad hyaline margins, outermost acute to acuminate, those inwards obtuse and rounded or sometimes truncate and then unevenly dentate to slightly emarginate, outermost apically erect, those inwards erect-spreading to erect, all sometimes plicate, outermost with interlocking hairs reaching above the middle of the bract, those inwards mostly glabrous, outermost reddish to whitish, those inwards white, innermost with a stereome about 1.3-2.4 times as long as the lamina. Corolla narrowly cylindrical, sometimes slightly widened above, 3.0-3.8 mm long; lobes erect to erect-spreading. Anthers apically rounded. Cypselas narrowly oblong to narrowly ovoid, 2.0-2.5 mm long, with an indistinct annular ridge, sometimes ridged, dark brown. Pappus bristles with an indistinctly serrate and comparatively broad shaft, apically widened, ± flat and almost entire, mostly obtuse.