Metalasia cymbifolia Harv.

Erect much-branched shrublet, up to 0.5 m high. Branches erect, young densely whitish-tomentose, older becoming less tomentose or sometimes glabrous, with distinct leaf-scars. Foliage dense. Leaves spreading to erect, usually strongly incurvate and non-twisted, or sometimes slightly curved outwards and half-twisted, without or with axillary brachyblasts less than half as long as the subtending leaf, slightly involute and concave, or sometimes much involute, oblanceolate to obovate, sometimes subspathulate or elliptic, 2.0-11 x 0.6-2.6 mm, acute to obtuse, glabrous or sometimes sparsely pubescent, at least towards the base, with a distinct midvein towards the base. Synflorescenses 8-45 mm wide, dense and distinctly branched, with 5 to numerous capitula arranged in (0-)few to 20 obscurely branched clusters, each containing few to 30 capitula; a few individually arranged capitula sometimes also present. Peduncles 0-11 mm long. Capitula 3-flowered, sessile or with pedicels 1.5-3 mm long, fused by hairs within the clusters, lower half of each capitulum hairy. Involucre cyathiform to narrowly campanulate, distinctly widened above, apically 2-3 mm wide, sometimes up to 4 mm wide at anthesis. Involucral bracts in 4-5(-6) series, gradually longer inwards, sometimes of subequal lenght, outermost about 1/2-2/3 as long as the innermost, outermost subfoliaceous with a scarious to petaloid lamina, those inwards petaloid, outermost subulate-lanceolate to subspathulate, those inwards narrowly oblong to narrowly obovate, all except outermost with narrow hyaline margins, outermost usually acute, those inwards rounded and obtuse, all apiculate and slightly to deeply concave, outermost to inner apically erect-spreading, innermost erect and usually with a ± distinct transverse ridge subapically, outermost with interlocking hairs reaching above the middle of the bract, those inwards less hairy to glabrous, outermost slightly reddish above the stereome but otherwise whitish to pink, those inwards pink or rarely white, innermost with a stereome about 1-2(-3) times as long as the lamina. Corolla narrowly cylindrical, sometimes slightly constricted at the middle, 3.6-4.4 mm long; lobes erect. Anthers apically rounded to almost truncate. Cypselas oblong to elliptic-oblong, with a distinct annular ridge, unevenly ridged, brown. Pappus bristles with a broad sometimes narrow and conspicuously serrate shaft, apically usually comparatively wide, acute to obtuse, flat or sometimes flattened and slightly serrate to slightly dentate to entire.