Metalasia serrulata P.O.Karis

Sparingly to much-branched shrublet, sprawling to erect, slender, up to 0.4 m high. Branches ascending to erect, young densely whitish-tomentose, older becoming less tomentose to glabrous, with indistinct leaf-scars. Foliage dense or sometimes sparse. Leaves spreading or sometimes declinate, rarely erect-spreading, usually ± curved, rarely with axillary brachyblasts much less than half as long as the subtending leaf, involute, oblanceolate to narrowly oblanceolate, (0.8-)1.9-11 x (0.3-)0.5-2.0 mm, acute, about half-twisted, sparsely pubescent or almost glabrous, with an indistinct midvein towards the base. Synflorescenses 3-11 mm wide, very dense, head-like, broadly campanulate, unbranched or seemingly unbranched, with few to 10(-15) capitula arranged in 1 to few unbranched not distinguishable clusters. Peduncles in branched synflorescenses 0.5-1 mm long. Capitula 3-flowered, sessile, completely fused by hairs within synflorescenses and clusters, lower 1/2-2/3 of each capitulum hairy. Involucre narrowly cyathiform, apically 1-1.5 mm wide, up to 2 mm wide at anthesis. Involucral bracts in 3-4(-5) series, gradually longer inwards, outermost about 2/3-3/4 as long as the innermost, outermost foliaceous often with a scarious lamina, those inwards petaloid, outermost lanceolate to subspathulate, those inwards narrowly ovate to oblanceolate with non-hyaline part subspathulate to narrowly oblong, all except outermost with broad hyaline margins, outermost acute to rounded and obtuse, those inwards often obtuse, outermost slightly apiculate and often carinate, all apically erect and slightly concave, outermost with interlocking hairs reaching throughout the bract, those inwards less hairy to glabrous, outermost reddish or sometimes brownish, those inwards usually conspicuously reddish above the stereome but otherwise white, innermost with a stereome about 2.6-3.2 times as long as the lamina. Corolla narrowly cylindrical, 2.9-3.6 mm long; lobes erect-spreading to erect. Anthers apically rounded. Cypselas usually narrowly oblong or sometimes narrowly oblong-elliptic, 2.4-2.8 mm long, with an inconspicuous annular ridge, with inconspicuous, irregularly distributed ribs, dark brown. Pappus bristles with a serrulate and narrow or often broad shaft, apically flat and serrulate to coarsely serrate, rarely slightly thickened towards the very apex, acute or sometimes obtuse in outline.