Pteronia elata B.Nord.

A sparingly or moderately branching, gracile shrub, 1-2 m tall. Branches slender, ± straight, glabrous, striate; young branches light brown, older branches with ash-grey cortex. Leaves opposite in distant pairs (internodes often about equalling the leaves) or crowded on lateral short-shoots, suberect, spathulate-narrowly oblong-obovate, 1-2 cm long, 3-8 mm wide, flat, coriaceous, midveined (most prominently on the abaxial side), with distinctly white-ciliolated margins, otherwise glabrous; base half-clasping; apex rounded, obscurely apiculate. Capitula terminal, solitary, shortly pedunculate, somewhat campanulate, at length almost oblong-cylindric, 1-2 cm long, 0.5-1 cm broad, obtuse in bud. Involucral scales c. 25, about 5-6-seriate, coriaceous-cartilaginous, glabrous, pale golden yellow-straw-coloured (more greenish in bud), often brownish towards the tip, apically obtuse or rounded, inner ones more acute, with thin, membranous, somewhat fringed margins (less conspicuous in the outer scales); outer scales oblong or ovate-oblong, 4-7 mm long, 2-4 mm wide; middle scales narrowly oblong-obovate or spathulate, 8-11 mm long, 4-5 mm wide; innermost scales narrowly spathulate-oblanceolate, 10-12 mm long, 2-3 mm wide. Receptacle clavate, c. 4 mm high and wide; bractiferous sides shallowly alveolate, nude; floriferous top somewhat convex, paleate; paleae narrowly lanceolate-acuminate, somewhat lacerate, 4 mm long, whitish. Florets 10-30. Corolla yellow, tubular, 9-10.5 mm long, 1.5-2 mm wide near the apex, sparsely puberulous below the middle; lobes narrowly ovate, 2 mm long, 0.7-1 mm wide, with acute, cucullate tips and thickened margins. Anthers 4-4.5 mm long incl. the ovate, acute appendage. Style lobes lanceolate, 2.5-3 mm long, apically flattened, subacute. Pappus bristles c. 40, straight, 5-6 mm long, outer ones shorter, somewhat rusty, densely barbellate. Achene obovate-turbinate, 3 mm long, 1.5-1.8 mm wide, densely white silky-villous.