Mimetes fimbriifolius Knight

A small tree 2.5-5 m tall with a dense rounded, spreading crown up to 5 m in diam., trunk stout, 250-600 mm in diam., covered with dark grey irregularly fissured corky bark up to 25 mm thick. Branches stout, stocky 10-12 mm in diam., repeatedly dichotomous, densely velutinous, eventually glabrous. Leaves densely ascending imbricate, oblong to elliptic-oblong, 40-70 mm long, 12-22 mm wide, truncate and sessile at base, apices obtuse, tridentate; densely velutinous initially, eventually glabrescent, but margins densely fimbriate with white cilia; leaves subtending axillary capitula obpandurate, becoming cucullate, anteriorly conduplicate, clasping capitulum immediately below. Inflorescence broadly cylindric, 60-80 mm long, 60-70 mm wide. Capitula 4-7-flowered, subtended by a reddish flushed obpandurate cucullate conduplicate leaf, obtuse and tridentate at apex. Outer involucral bracts unequally developed, forming a bilabiate clasping involucre, minutely puberulous but villous proximally; anterior bracts 2 or 3, broadly elliptic, acuminate, 35-40 mm long, 12-16 mm wide; posterior bracts narrowly lanceolate, acuminate, 15-25 mm long, 3-5 mm wide. Floral bracts linear-subulate, very densely sericeous, 10 mm long, 1 mm wide. Perianth 40-45 mm long; tube inflated, hyaline, glabrous, 3 mm long; claws filiform, minutely puberulous; limbs linear-cymbiform, acute, outer surface villous. Style 55-60 mm long. Pollen presenter 8-10 mm long, very narrowly ellipsoid-acuminate, slightly constricted proximally and minutely annulate at junction with style; stigmatic groove oblique, on anterior surface of acuminate apex. Ovary sericeous, 1-2 mm long, not differentiated from style. Hypogynous scales 1>5 mm long> subulate, fleshy. Fruits broadly ovoid, 8 mm long 5 mm wide. Flowering is often rather erratic resulting in odd inflorescences being produced at almost any time of the year. However, the main flowering period commences in about July, reaching a peak in September and continuing until as late as December. Ripe fruits are shed over a period of several months, commencing in January.