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Phyllaries appressed imbricate, chartaceous, margins purple-tinged hyaline, obtuse to attenuate-acute at the apex, tawny araneose-lanate, the indumentum usually obscuring the surface, from c. 1.5 mm. long and narrowly triangular outside, increasing to c. 14 mm. long becoming very narrowly lanceolate inside; middle phyllaries up to c. 2.5 mm. wide, lanceolate.
Florets numerous; corollas bright-to deep-red, up to c. 16 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 linear, eventually recurved or spreading to expose the anther tube.
Stems annual, becoming woody at the base, 1-several, simple below and sparingly branched near the apex, leafy throughout, tawny sericeous-lanate in upper part, whitish araneose-lanate below.
Achenes c. 5 mm. long (immature), narrowly subfusiform-cylindric, stramineous strigose-hispid; pappus of copious barbellate setae 9–11 mm. long.
Capitula many, 1–2 on each branch, subsidiary heads at first subsessile in leaf or bract axils, stalks to c. 6 cm. long.
Involucres mostly 12–15 x 7–10 mm., spreading to c. 15 mm. wide, narrowly cylindric-campanulate.
An erect tomentose suffrutex, 30–90 cm. tall, from a woody rootstock.
