a sometimes very large dense bush, up to 12 ft. high; branches more or less hirsute and minutely tomentose; leaves much crowded up to the flower-heads, mostly erect and concealing the stem, sometimes spreading, oblong to elliptic or ovate-oblong, entire or 3- (rarely 5-) toothed at the apex with callous-pointed teeth, rounded or cordate at the base, 1 1/2–3 in. long, 1/2–1 in. broad, more or less distinctly veined, finely tomentose when young or glabrous or villous near the base; heads greenish-yellow, tinged with red, solitary, peduncled, 2–2 1/2 in. long, excluding the styles up to 2 1/4 in. in diam., with a definite short involucre of imbricate barren bracts; peduncle 1/2 in. long, covered with closely imbricate, ovate or ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, very finely silky-pubescent, then glabrous, ciliate bracts; receptacle cylindric over 1 in. long, 2 lin. in diam.; barren and floral bracts similar, ovate, acuminate, 6–7 lin. long, very finely silky-pubescent below, then glabrous, ciliate; adult flower-bud up to 1 1/4 in. long; perianth-tube 2–4 lin. long, glabrous; adaxial and lateral claws permanently united into a sheath concave or flattened-out and revolute above, 9–10 lin. long, hirsute or glabrous on the back below; abaxial claw long-adhering to the top of the sheath, hirsute all over; limbs ovate-oblong, acute, up to 2 lin. long, inflexed on the revolute top of the claw, finely tomentose and hirsute, some of the hairs red; anthers over 1/2 lin. long, on broad filaments, broadly ovate-oblong, 1 lin. long, connective wide; hypogynous scales 1 lin. long, obtuse; ovary oblong, over 1 lin. long, densely and minutely whitish pubescent; style almost 2 lin. long, robust, acutely quadrangular above, glabrous; stigma orange-red, obliquely conic-ovoid, 1 1/2 lin. long, unequally grooved; fruit globose-ellipsoid, whitish, 3 1/2 lin. long, very sparingly and minutely puberulous. null
