Nicolasia nitens (O.Hoffm.) Eyles

Slender annual or much-branched bushy perennial herb up to c. 40 cm tall; branches slender, ascending to ± erect, pale, sparsely pilose to glabrescent. Leaves up to 7.0 x 0.8 cm, linear to linear-elliptic, tapering to an acute apex, cuneate to the sessile base, margins sparsely callous-dentate to entire, sparsely pilose with ± setiform hairs or glabrescent, midrib ± prominent below, secondary nerves pinnate but very inconspicuous. Inflorescence a lax panicle with few to many pedunculate capitula; peduncles slender 2-6 cm long, sparsely pilose or glabrescent, bracteate with a linear aristate bract c. 3-5 mm long a little way below the capitulum and with gradually larger ones below passing into the leaves. Involucre c. 1.2 cm wide, campanulate; involucral bracts 4-5-seriate, somewhat spreading and patent, the outer short and becoming progressively longer to the inside, up to c. 1.0 cm long, narrowly linear-lanceolate, tapering to an acuminate-aristate apex, purple-tipped, margins chartaceous, with a strong midrib which is sparsely pubescent at the apex. Outer female florets filamentous, c. 5.0 mm long; style filamentous, exserted, deeply divided into filamentous lobes. Hermaphrodite disk-florets up to 8 mm long, narrowly tubular but widening slightly near the apex, glabrous, lobes narrowly triangular with minute glands and bearded with shortish acicular hairs. Cypsela narrowly cylindric, 1.8 mm long, pilose; pappus of 5-10 very fine scarcely barbellate whitish setae c. 6 mm long.