Metalasia pulchella (Cass.) P.O.Karis

Erect shrublet, sometimes sprawling, sparingly to much-branched, up to 0.4 m high. Branches usually erect, young densely whitish-tomentose, sometimes also with some glands, older becoming glabrous or subglabrous, mostly with distinct leaf-scars. Foliage dense to very dense. Leaves usually spreading to erect-spreading, straight, mostly with axillary brachyblasts less than half as long as the subtending leaf, much to highly involute, linear to narrowly oblanceolate, 3.6-17 x 0.5-1.0(-1.5) mm, acute to shortly acuminate, mostly half-twisted, sparsely pubescent to glabrous, with an indistinct midvein towards the base. Synflorescenses 7-25 mm wide, very dense, often campanulate or sometimes umbraculiform, often slightly branched, with few to numerous capitula arranged in (1-)few to 10 fused and often distinguishable and urceolate clusters, each containing few to 5 capitula. Peduncles 0-5 mm long. Capitula 5-flowered, sessile or sometimes with pedicels up to 2 mm long, completely fused by hairs within clusters and synflorescenses, lower half of each capitulum hairy. Involucre narrowly campanulate, apically 3-4 mm wide, sometimes up to 5 mm wide at anthesis. Involucral bracts in 4-5 series, of about equal length, tips reaching a similar height, all petaloid, outermost with an involute ericoid and leaf-like stereome and lanceolate to narrowly oblong or sometimes oblanceolate, those inwards lanceolate to narrowly oblanceolate, all except outermost with narrow to broad hyaline margins, outermost acute, those inwards acute to rounded to truncate and emarginate to irregularly dentate, outermost to inner apically erect-spreading to erect but innermost erect and conspicuously plicate, outermost with interlocking hairs and also with coarse hairs and with glands, those inwards less hairy and less glandular to glabrous, outermost often reddish to brownish at least above the stereome, or sometimes whitish, those inwards white, innermost with a stereome about 1.3-1.9 times as long as the lamina. Corolla narrowly cylindrical, 3.8-4.0 mm long, often with a conspicuous rigid resiniferous base; lobes erect. Anthers apically rounded. Cypselas (very few seen only) narrowly oblong, 2.4-2.6 mm long, with a conspicuous annular ridge, brown. Pappus bristles with a serrate and narrow shaft, apically flattened or often subterete and almost entire, often obtuse.