Metalasia muraltiifolia Dc.

Erect, rigid shrub, robust, sparingly branched, up to 2.5 m high. Branches erect and thick, young densely whitish or sometimes white-tomentose, older becoming less tomentose to subglabrous, with a conspicuous tomentum remaining for 3-4 seasons, without or with distinct leaf-scars. Foliage dense. Leaves spreading or sometimes erect-spreading, straight, with axillary brachyblasts less than half as long as the subtending leaf and which sometimes elongate into 3-5 cm long shoots, slightly to much involute, narrowly lanceolate, 7.0-16 x 0.8-2.0 mm, acute, carinate, mostly half-twisted, densely pubescent to subglabrous, with a distinct midvein. Synflorescenses 25-60 mm wide, very dense, umbraculiform to spheroid, conspicuously branched, with numerous capitula arranged in 10-25 obscurely branched clusters, each containing 5-20 capitula. Peduncles (0-)3-20 mm long, fused by hairs but conspicuous. Capitula 5-flowered, sessile, completely fused by hairs within clusters and synflorescenses, lower 1/2-3/4 of each capitulum hairy. Involucre cyathiform, apically 2.5-4 mm wide. Involucral bracts in 4-5(-7) series, slightly longer inwards, outermost about 2/3-4/5 as long as the innermost, outermost subfoliaceous with a subpetaloid lamina, those inwards petaloid, outermost narrowly lanceolate to sub-spathulate, those inwards spathulate to narrowly obovate to narrowly oblanceolate, all except outermost with mostly broad hyaline margins, outermost acute or often obtuse, those inwards obtuse and rounded to truncate, all apically erect, outermost usually lacerate and sometimes slightly concave, those inwards plicate and sometimes emarginate to irregularly dentate, outermost with interlocking hairs reaching above the middle of the bract, those inwards less hairy to glabrous, outermost light to dark brown to reddish, those inwards bright pink to white, innermost with a stereome about 1.9-4.2 times as long as the lamina. Corolla narrowly cylindrical, 3.8-4.0 mm long, sometimes with a rigid resiniferous base; lobes erect. Anthers apically rounded and with toothed margins. Cypselas narrowly oblong, 2.7-3.5 mm long, with an inconspicuous annular ridge, irregularly ridged, dark brown. Pappus bristles with a ± serrate and narrow to broad shaft, apically flattened to ± flat and almost entire, thickened or often subterete towards the very apex, generally obtuse.