Nolletia ruderalis Hilliard

Perennial herb or suffrutex up to 0.5 m high, sparsely to scattered leafy. Stems erect or ascending, sparsely branched, green, straw-coloured at base, ribbed, glabrous. Leaves alternate, scattered, sessile to semi-amplexicaul, linear, up to 40 x 1-2 mm, progressively smaller upwards and passing into inflorescence bracts; apex acute, mucronate; margin entire; glabrous. Capitula heterogamous, disciform, 10-12 mm in diameter, terminal, solitary or arranged in few-headed loose corymbs, sometimes with a few stipitate glands on peduncle below capitula. Involucre campanulate. Involucral bracts imbricate, in 3 or 4 rows, glabrous, rarely with some stipitate glands on the margins and apices of outer bracts when young, usually minutely white-punctate; outer bracts narrowly triangular to narrowly ovate, 1.5-2.0 x 0.5 mm, acute; second row narrowly ovate, 2.5-3.0 x 0.5-0.8 mm, acute, with narrowly membranous, fimbriate margin; third row narrowly obovate, 3.5-4.5 x 0.8-1.0 mm, acute, with narrowly membranous, fimbriate margin; inner row narrowly obovate to oblong, 4.5-6.0 x 0.8-1.0 mm, acute, with broader membranous, fimbriate margin. Receptacle epaleate, foveolate. Outer female florets up to 14, in 1 row, fertile, filiform; tube 1.5-2.5 mm long, shorter than style furcation, with glandular hairs, apex dentate or divided in 1-5 lobes up to 0.5 mm long; corolla yellow, sometimes tinged reddish at apex. Style exserted, up to 3.5 mm long, bifurcate; style branches 0.5-1.0 mm long, apex rounded or rarely with apical deltoid-papillate appendage; stigmatic areas along margin, confluent at apex. Cypsela and pappus as in disc florets. Disc florets up to 65, regular, bisexual, fertile; tubular below, tube 1.0-1.5 mm long, widening upwards, upper campanulate part 1.5-2.0 mm long; 5-or rarely 6-lobed, lobes 0.5-1.0 mm long; with glandular hairs on tube and lobes; corolla yellow. Anthers 1.5-2.0 mm long; with ovate apical appendage; base shortly caudate, ecalcarate; filament collars with thickened cell walls. Style up to 4 mm long, bifurcate; style branches 1.0-1.5 mm long, with deltoid-papillate apical appendage; stigmatic areas marginal, not confluent at apex. Cypsela brownish, margin thickened, whitish, obovoid, laterally flattened, 2.5-3.0 x 1 mm; covered with longish twin hairs, equal or subequal in length, apices of twin hairs acute; with oblong epicarpic cells arranged in parallel rows. Pappus of numerous barbellate bristles, up to 4 mm long.