Compilation
Vernonia woodii

Woody herb or shrub 0.6–4 m tall, with woody rootstock; stems at first thickly pubescent to tomentose, when older developing a grey bark, sometimes purple. Leaves ovate to elliptic, rarely oblanceolate, 3–25 cm long, 1–8.5 cm wide, base cuneate or attenuate into a petioloid base, margins serrate or coarsely so, apex shortly acuminate, densely finely pubescent to scattered-hispid and often ± glabrescent above, densely grey-tomentose to thinly pubescent beneath. Capitula rather few in terminal corymbiform cymes; involucre hemispherical to globose, 18–33 mm long; phyllaries 5–6-seriate, pale green, lanceolate, the longest 13–27 mm long, ± tomentose; appendages lanceolate to ovate, 3–20 mm long, 1–11 mm wide, 0.9–13.6 times as long as wide, green to white (rarely pale lilac), ± curving or recurving on the outer and middle, standing out in a series of frills, erect on the inner, densely shortly pubescent to glabrous, acute to subtruncate or attenuate. Corolla white, pale mauve or lilac, 12.5–19 mm long, lobes 1.2–2.5 mm long. Achenes 3.2–5.5 mm long, densely ascending-pubescent; pappus yellowish white or tan, outer of short scales, inner 8–13.5 mm long. Fig. 48, fig. 38/10 (capitulum), p.168