a large bush, 8–9 ft. high; branches tomentose towards the heads; leaves sessile, 3 1/4–7 1/2 in. long, 3/4–1 3/4 in. broad, oblong-lanceolate, acute or subobtuse, with thickened margins and a prominent midrib, loosely and softly hairy, particularly towards the base, at length glabrous; heads sessile, 5–6 in. long, about 6 in. wide; involucral bracts 9–10-seriate, silky pubescent; outer ovate-oblong, subacute to obtuse, bearded; inner oblanceolate-oblong or the innermost narrowed downwards into a long narrow claw, subacuminate or cuspidate, with a whitish or (dry) fulvous beard, 2 lin. long, equalling the flowers; perianth-sheath 2 in. long, very gradually dilated and 7-nerved and 3-keeled below, densely pubescent to villous excepting at the glabrous base; lip 1 1/2 in. long, pubescent or villous on the sides, less so or glabrescent on the back, long-villous upwards, produced into 2 densely ciliate undulating awns, 1 in. long, cilia secund, up to 4 lin. long, passing into more or less purple woolly tufts upwards; fertile stamens 3, 2 1/2 lin. long; anthers linear; apical glands 3/4 lin. long, ovate-anceolate, acuminate; barren anther 2 1/2 lin. long, oblong, acuminate, acute, eglandular, with a filiform filament 1/2 lin. long; ovary 1 lin. long, obovoid, covered with long reddish hairs; style 2 1/4 in. long, gently curved, laterally compressed below, more or less terete above, with a short ventral groove, ending in a projecting point above the ovary, pubescent; stigma 3 lin. long, linear, acute, kneed at the junction with the style. null
