Sparsely to scattered leafy, sometimes almost leafless, virgate or caespitose suffrutex, rarely a small shrub, from woody, vertical rootstock, (0.25-)0.3-0.6(-1) m high. Stems wiry, simple or sparsely branched, greenish or yellowish brown at base, herbaceous and green upwards; glabrous to sparsely appressed pubescent, more densely so at tips and below capitula. Leaves alternate, sparsely set, held close to stem, sessile, linear-filiform, lower leaves (7-)10-20(-40) x (0.2-)0.5(-1.0) mm, decreasing in size upwards; apex acute; margin entire; glabrous or sparsely to densely appressed pubescent on both surfaces. Capitula heterogamous, disciform, 8-10 mm in diameter, arranged in few-headed, loose corymbs or rarely solitary, terminal. Involucre campanulate. Involucral bracts imbricate, in 3 or 4 rows, green, often tinged purplish, persistent and recurved in old inflorescences; outer row mostly narrowly ovate or narrowly triangular to narrowly elliptic, 1.3-2.2 x 0.3-1.0 mm, apex acute to acuminate, with fimbriate margins, appressed pubescent; second row varying from narrowly elliptic to narrowly oblong or narrowly ovate to narrowly obovate, 2-3 x 0.5-1.0 mm, apex acute, with narrow membranous, fimbriate margin, appressed pubescent; third row mostly narrowly obovate, but also narrowly elliptic to narrowly oblong, 2.1-4.0 x 0.8-1.0 mm, apex acute, with membranous, fimbriate margin, appressed pubescent; inner row narrowly obovate to narrowly elliptic, 3.2-4.1 x 0.5-1.0 mm, apex acute to acuminate, with membranous, fimbriate margin, central part appressed pubescent. Receptacle epaleate, foveolate. Outer female florets 13-20, in 1 row, fertile, filiform; tube 1.0-1.5 mm long, shorter than style furcation, with numerous glandular hairs; corolla pale yellow, sometimes purplish at apex. Style 1.5-3.0 mm long, bifurcate; style branches elliptic, 0.5-1.0 mm long, apex rounded; stigmatic areas marginal, confluent at apex. Pappus and cypsela as in disc florets. Disc florets 26-43, regular, bisexual, fertile; tubular at base, tube 2-3 mm long, widening slightly after ± 1 mm but still tubular, then widening further upwards towards lobes, lobes 5, 0.5-1.0 mm long; with glandular hairs around first widening and few glandular hairs on lobes; corolla yellow or sometimes upper part of tube and lobes purplish. Anthers 0.6-1.6 mm long, with narrowly ovate apical appendages; bases shortly caudate, ecalcarate; filament collars with thickened cell walls. Style 1.5-3.5 mm long, bifurcate; style branches linear, 0.5-1.0 mm long; stigmatic areas marginal, with deltoid-penicillate apical appendages. Cypsela honey-coloured, shiny, narrowly obovoid, laterally compressed, often skew to 1 side, 1.5-2.5 x 0.5-1.0 mm; surface with scattered, circular to elliptic epicarpic cells arranged in pairs, each pair with 1 short twin hair between them, apices of twin hairs acute, slightly subequal in length. Pappus of caducous, barbellate bristles, 2.0-3.2 mm long. Flowering time: from December to August, with a peak from January to May.
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