Home
Leaves stiff, silvery-grey, concolorous, sometimes paler beneath, bullate, stem-sheathing briefly at the base, mostly 8–25 x 2–7.5 cm., elliptic, tapering acute at the apex; cuneate below, tapering into a narrowly winged petiole-like midrib up to c. 30 mm. long before widening into a short membranous lanate sheathing-base to c. 10 mm. long; margins irregularly serrate, sometimes obscurely so; finely araneose-lanate on both surfaces often more densely so beneath; main nerves 12–20 on each side of the midrib, impressed on the upper surface and prominent beneath, tertiary venation reticulate and prominent beneath.
Phyllaries numerous, stiffly coriaceous, at first appressed imbricate soon loosely spreading, usually persistently close felted-lanate outside, sometimes glabrescent, margins often narrowly hyaline purple-tinged and glabrous; the lowermost phyllaries scattered on the capitulum stalk, mostly from 5–12 mm. long, sometimes to c. 15 mm. long, narrowly triangular to linear-lanceolate increasing to c. 25 mm. long, sometimes to 30 mm. long, and becoming linear inside; middle phyllaries up to 8 mm. wide, lorate-lanceolate or oblong; inner phyllaries narrower.
Florets numerous, corollas bright-or deep-red, up to c. 30 mm. long, with a long slender tube abruptly dilated into a short cylindric deeply-lobed limb which exceeds the pappus and involucre, glabrous; corolla lobes 6–7 mm. long, linear.
Capitula large, usually solitary and terminal on each stem, occasionally 2–4 subsidiary heads in axils below, capitula stalks often somewhat thickened and densely grey-or fulvous-lanate below the capitula.
Achenes 9–14 mm. long, narrowly cylindric, obscurely many-ribbed, densely appressed hispid; pappus of copious barbellate setae to c. 18 mm. long.
Stems annual, 1-many, simple or sometimes branching near the apex, leafy usually to apex, densely greyish lanate.
An erect robust silvery-grey suffrutex, 15–80 cm. tall, from a woody rootstock.
Involucres mostly 20–40 x 25–40 mm., spreading to c. 60 mm. wide, turbinate.