a bush, up to 6 ft. high or sometimes acaulescent; branches glabrous; leaves petioled; blade 2 1/2–5 1/4 in. long, 2–3 1/2 in. broad, varying from subrotundate and obtuse to elliptic and acute, cuneate at the base, prominently and reticulately veined on both sides, punctate, glabrous; petiole up to 4 1/2 in. long, terete; head sessile, 5–8 in. long, about 5–8 in. in diam.; involucral bracts 12–13-seriate; outer ovate to ovate-lanceolate, acute, like the inner at first more or less densely whitish- or greyish-tomentose, often at length glabrescent or the lowest quite glabrous; inner lanceolate-oblong, acuminate, acute, mostly permanently tomentose, exceeding the flowers; perianth-sheath over 2 in. long, pubescent outside on the upper part, and pubescent to villous within from the widened base upwards, particularly along the sides, dilated, 7-nerved, faintly 3-keeled and glabrous below; lip 1 lin. long, tomentose, produced into 3 tomentose or villous awns; lateral awns 2 lin. long; median awn 2 lin. long; stamens all fertile; filaments 1/4 in. long, flattened; anthers linear, 4 lin. long; apical glands 3/4 lin. long, oblong, obtuse; ovary 2 lin. long, oblong, covered with long whitish hairs; style 2 1/2 in. long, laterally much flattened, slightly curved inwards, pubescent, at least below; stigma 4 lin. long, filiform, obtuse, kneed and bent at the junction with the style. null
