Seriphium spirale (Less.) Koek.

A much branched, white tomentose or grey-green shrub or subshrub, up to 0.5 m tall. Branches densely leafy, tomentose or glaucous. Leaves slender, up to 8 mm long, occasionally short, up to 3 mm long, and adpressed for about half the length, very variable, tightly involute, rarely spreading horizontally, more often spirally twisted, ascending or inclined; always at least basally adpressed; densely woolly to glaucous; tips slightly reflexed, acute or shortly mucronate. Synflorescences terminal; globose, subglobose or cylindrical, up to 50 mm long, rarely with basal clusters. Capitula 1-flowered. Receptacle stalk-like. Involucral bracts 12-14, bright yellow or creamy, outermost much shorter than the innermost, somewhat leaf-like and woolly, innermost acute to acuminate, as long as or a little shorter than the mature floret. Disc florets bisexual, corolla 3.5 mm long, cylindrical, yellow, fading to light brown after anthesis; corolla lobes small, erect, triangular. Stamens 5, apical appendage lanceolate, basally tailed. Style bifid, branches usually not exserted from the corolla at maturity, base slightly bulbous. Nectaries absent. Cypselas short-hairy; ribs faint. Pappus setae 14, slightly joined at the base, 2.5 mm long, much shorter than the corolla tube.