Schistostephium crataegifolium (Dc.) Fenzl ex Harv.

Erect, often woody herb to small shrub, up to 1.2 m tall, branching from base, or from a single stem, stem striate, pubescent; old woody stems with short spreading hairs, younger stems with long appressed antrorse hairs leaving a spine-like base when broken, dried stem often tinged red. Leaves alternate, sessile or with up to 8 mm of midrib lacking lamina, lamina shape very variable, but always pinnatisectly divided for some or all of length, lobes often divided into two or sometimes three orders of lobing; both surfaces of lamina pubescent, sometimes densely so, usually with denser long appressed hairs below especially on midrib, sessile or pitted glands on upper or lower surfaces or sometimes absent, sometimes stipitate glandular on upper midrib; margins entire, thickened, sometimes in-rolled below, sometimes densely hairy, but dissected into 5-13 lobes, lobe apices mucronate or callous-tipped, acute or obtuse, leaf base truncate just below basal lobes or attenuate, leaf venation prominent or sometimes inconspicuous and with dense, long spreading hairs on both surfaces, lobes 1-many-veined. Capitula solitary or in branched clusters, axillary or terminal, clusters tight or lax, capitula pedicellate, pedicel drying yellow, up to 3-25 mm long, (positioning of bracts very variable), pubescent with short appressed hairs, hairs drying yellow occasionally mixed with spreading hairs; bracts subtending capitulum usually present, bracts 1.5-4.5 mm long, abaxial surface pubescent, adaxial surface glabrous. Capitula disciform and heterogamous or discoid and homogamous; involucre broadly and shallowly campanulate, (4-)6-7(-8) mm diam.; phyllaries c. 30, multiseriate, subequal, variable in shape and size 0.7-1.2 mm wide, 1.7-3.6 mm long, margins and apex becoming more hyaline on inner phyllaries, often abaxially pubescent with spreading hairs that dry yellow; receptacle broadly domed and hollow, 1.5-2 mm diam., 1.5-2 mm tall. Outermost florets female, c. 5 or less (often absent), corollas yellow, tube 1.6-2.3 mm long, c. 0.7 mm diam., glabrous, lobes 0.2-0.4 mm long acute and slightly in turned, almost cucullate; style drying yellow. Achenes of female florets flattened and winged, c. 0.8 mm long, 0.6 mm wide including a wing c. 0.12 mm wide; pappus absent. Inner florets hermaphrodite, 30-60(-110), corollas yellow, tube c. 1.5 mm long, 0.7-0.8 mm diam., distinction between tube and throat inconspicuous; lobes 0.3-0.4 mm long, acute and slightly inturned forming a hood, outer surface of lobe apex with yellow granular glands; anthers yellow, c. 0.8 mm long, apical anther appendages acute or rounded; basal anther appendages short and triangular, anther collars pigmented. Achenes of hermaphrodite florets c. 1.3 mm long, c. 0.75 mm wide, sometimes glandular, innermost achenes sometimes with apparently unicellular setulae present on inner angle; pappus absent.