Metalasia luteola P.O.Karis

Erect much-branched shrublet or shrub, up to 1.5 m high. Branches mostly erect, young densely whitish or greyish-tomentose, older becoming less tomentose, with indistinct to distinct leaf-scars. Foliage dense to very dense. Leaves often spreading, curved, with axillary brachyblasts more than half as long as and often equalling the subtending leaf, much or sometimes highly involute, often narrowly oblanceolate, or sometimes narrowly oblong, 3.8-6.1 x 0.6-0.8 mm, acute, carinate, mostly about half-twisted, glabrous or sometimes very sparsely pubescent, with a distinct midvein at least towards the base. Synflorescenses 15-35 mm wide, dense, umbraculiform to spheroid, ± branched, with mostly numerous capitula arranged in (5-)10-15 slightly to distinctly branched clusters, each containing few to 30 capitula. Peduncles 3-7 mm long. Capitula 4-5-flowered, sessile or sometimes with pedicels up to 2 mm long, free from one another, lower 2/3-4/5 of each capitulum hairy. Involucre cyathiform to narrowly campanulate, apically 1.5-2.5 mm wide. Involucral bracts in (6-)7-8 series, gradually longer inwards, most bracts not petaloid, outermost about 1/3 as long as the innermost, outermost subfoliaceous to scarious, those inwards scarious to petaloid, outermost narrowly ovate, those inwards subulate-lanceolate to narrowly oblanceolate, inner and innermost usually with narrow hyaline margins and often conspicuously transparent above the stereome, outermost acute, those inwards shortly acuminate and innermost obtuse and emarginate to truncate or shortly apiculate to irregularly dentate, outermost apically erect, those inwards often spreading to erect-spreading or sometimes revolute, outermost with interlocking hairs reaching almost throughout the bract, those inwards less hairy to glabrous, outermost brownish to yellowish-brown, those inwards whitish-yellow, innermost with a stereome about 0.9-1.5 times as long as the lamina. Corolla narrowly cylindrical, 3.1-3.8 mm long; lobes erect. Anthers apically rounded. Cypselas narrowly oblong to narrowly oblong-ovoid, 1.4-1.8 mm long, without an annular ridge, with short acute papillae, brown. Pappus bristles with a serrate or sometimes dentate and narrow shaft, apically ± flat or sometimes sub terete and serrate to almost entire, acute.