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Erect or suberect, annual or perennial herbs or sometimes subshrubs, with simple or symmetrically T-shaped hairs. Leaves alternate, simple. Capitula usually pedunculate, 8–75-flowered, in simple or corymbiform cymes with branches longer than central axis. Involucre imbricate, 4–6-seriate; bracts usually persistent; receptacle flat, naked, weakly alveolate. Florets actinomorphic; corolla tubular with narrowly campanulate or funnelform, 5-lobed limb; anthers without tails, appendages often glandular; styles with nodes; style branches subulate, with acute, sometimes septate, sweeping hairs. Achenes oblong or turbinate, 5–10-costate, setulose or glandular and/or with idioblasts; raphides ± quadrate. Pappus usually biseriate; bristles of inner row filiform, caducous; outer bristles much shorter, squamiform.
Pappus usually 2-seriate with an outer short whorl of scales or setae, sometimes caducous; inner whorl of long barbellate or subplumose, sometimes caducous, whitish purple or green setae, more rarely the outer pappus absent, sometimes inner pappus setae flattened or widened towards the apex.
Phyllaries free in 2-many series, loosely or appressed imbricate; apices acute obtuse or rounded, often mucronate or aristate, sometimes with a membranous white or coloured appendage; receptacle flat or convex, plane or alveolate, the alveolae sometimes fimbriate.
Achenes subterete to ± laterally compressed, obpyramidal and 4–5-sided, oblong-obovoid, turbinate or subfusiform, 2–20-ribbed, sometimes smooth, sparsely to densely glandular, variously hairy, or glabrous, with or without a distinct basal callus.
Capitula homogamous, 1-many flowered, florets normally bisexual and fertile; capitula usually arranged in corymbiform cymes, sometimes scorpioidly cymose, or in various axillary or terminal clusters, spicate, paniculate, or solitary and terminal.
Corolla creamy-white, various shades of purple or blue, rarely orange, cylindric to narrowly infundibuliform or slender-tubular below and abruptly widened cylindric above, regularly 5-lobed.
Annual or perennial herbs (often suffrutescent in the Flora Zambesiaca area with annual stems from woody rootstocks) or small to large shrubs, woody scramblers or rarely small trees.
Style branches long tapering-subterete with stigmatic papillae on the inner surface towards the base, pilose or shortly hirsute outside, usually with sweeping hairs.
Leaves alternate, rarely subopposite, sometimes radical, sessile or petiolate, penninerved but sometimes 3–5-nerved from the base, often glandular.
Anthers with a linear or lanceolate apical appendage; theca bases acute or obtuse.
Involucres cyathiform-campanulate, obconic, cylindric, or hemispheric.
Pollen grains lophate, the ridges often spiny.
