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Florets deep-or bright-red or purple, cream or white, hermaphrodite, corollas actinomorphic, long slender tubular below and abruptly dilated into a short cylindric deeply linear-lobed limb exserted beyond the pappus and involucre; anther thecae appendiculate, the appendages tapering claw-shaped or stipitate-glandular, bases sagittate with elongate tails which are long-haired or fimbriate on their margins; style shallowly or deeply 2-fid, the branches somewhat swollen-triangular apically and hairy outside.
Leaves alternate, ± sessile, usually stem-sheathing at the base, lamina discolorous, plane or bullate, membranous to subcoriaceous, finely araneose-lanate to glabrescent, indumentum densest on the lower surface, nerves often impressed on upper surface and strongly prominent beneath.
Achenes narrowly subcylindric, obscurely narrowly many-ribbed, sometimes somewhat angular, densely hispid in the Flora Zambesiaca area; pappus of copious barbellate or subplumose setae.
Capitula homogamous, discoid; in few to many-headed racemose or narrowly subpaniculate arrangements, or capitula large terminal and solitary, sometimes with 2–4 subsidiary heads.
Phyllaries many-seriate, closely appressed imbricate, progressively larger to the inside; blades often purple or purple-tinged.
Perennial herbs or suffrutices with annual stems from woody rootstocks.
Stems 1-several, simple or branching near the apex, sericeous-lanate.
Involucres subcylindric, turbinate or campanulate.
Receptacle epaleate, shallowly alveolate.