Polycarena aurea Benth.

Annual herb 40-150(-300) mm tall, stems simple or branched either from the base or in the upper half, shortly glandular-pubescent with an admixture of longer hairs c. 0.4 mm long. Leaves mainly 5-29 x 0.5-4 mm, diminishing in size upwards, linear to narrowly oblanceolate, entire or with 1 or 2 pairs of obscure teeth, both surfaces glandular-pubescent. Flowers few to many in small terminal heads, elongating slightly in fruit but flowers always crowded, pedicels 0.5-2 mm long. Bracts 2.5-7.5 x 0.4-3 mm, narrowly to broadly elliptic, adnate roughly halfway up calyx tube (0.5-1.5 mm), glandular-pubescent mainly on the backs, hairs 0.25-0.4 mm long. Calyx 2.5-4 mm long, anticous lobes very short, posticous ones c. 1 mm long, glandular-pubescent particularly on the greenish keels, hairs up to 0.25-0.4 mm long. Corolla tube 3-5.5 x 1-1.75 mm, glabrous, limb 6-9.5 mm across, lobes elliptic, posticous ones 1.3-3 x 0.75-2 mm, anticous ones 1.75-4.5 x 1.25-2.5 mm, limb either wholly yellow or upper lip white tipped yellow, lower white, posticous lip either glabrous or with a few hairs on the palate. Stamens all well exserted, anthers 1 mm long, posticous filaments decurrent to base of tube. Stigma exserted. Capsule 2.5-3.5 x 2-3 mm Seeds many, c. 1 mm long, either distinctly or obscurely 3-winged.