Metalasia juniperoides Pillans

Often decumbent sometimes erect shrublet, much-branched, probably up to 0.3 m high. Branches ascending to erect, young densely, or sometimes sparsely, whitish-tomentose, with some to many glands, especially towards the tips, older becoming glabrous or sub-glabrous, with indistinct leaf-scars. Foliage dense. Leaves declinate to erect-spreading, straight to slightly curved, without or with axillary brachyblasts less than half as long as the subtending leaf, much involute, linear or sometimes narrowly oblanceolate, 2.1-19 x 0.3-0.9 mm, acute, sometimes carinate, about half-twisted, with some glands, glabrous or very sparsely pubescent, with an inconspicuous midvein towards the base. Synflorescenses 1.5-8 mm wide, dense, campanulate to obconic, unbranched, with 1-5 capitula, clearly overshot by a few bract-like leaves. Capitula 5-flowered, sessile, free from one another or slightly fused by hairs at the base, lower 1/2-2/3 of each capitulum hairy. Involucre cyathiform, apically 1.5-2.5 mm wide, becoming campanulate and up to 4.5 mm wide at an thesis. Involucral bracts in 4-5 series, gradually longer inwards, outermost about 2/3-3/4 as long as the innermost, outermost subfoliaceous with a scarious lamina to entirely scarious, those inwards scarious to petaloid, outermost subulate-lanceolate to lanceolate, those inwards narrowly ovate to ± oblanceolate, all except outermost with broad sometimes very broad hyaline margins and distinctly transparent above the stereome, outermost acute, those inwards acute to obtuse and slightly apiculate, all apically erect, innermost often plicate, outermost with interlocking hairs and with glands, those inwards less hairy and less glandular to glabrous, outermost reddish to brownish, those inwards sometimes reddish above the stereome but otherwise white, innermost with a stereome about 2.5-3 times as long as the lamina. Corolla narrowly cylindrical, 3.3-3.6 mm long; lobes erect-spreading to erect. Anthers apically rounded. Cypselas (not fully ripe) narrowly oblong, 2.8-3.0 mm long, without or with an inconspicuous annular ridge, dark brown. Pappus bristles with a serrate and narrow shaft, apically flattened to subterete and slightly serrate to almost entire, sometimes slightly clavate at the very apex, obtuse.