Herbs, perennial, erect or decumbent, up to 50 cm high; root-stock woody;
branches simple to caespitose. Leaves linear or linear-oblong, acute at apex,
usually with a brownish mucro, usually with entire, recurved margins, 4 - 4 x
0.1 - 0.4 cm, dark and more or less scaberulous above, denst!ly greyish white,
woolly beneath, 1-nerved. Heads white, many in terminal corymbs, 5 - 7 mm
across; peduncle buff coloured, 2 - 8 mm, woolly tomentose. Involucral bracts many-seriate; outer ovate, white, scarious to brown suffused, pale yellow at base
obtuse-acute; inner narrowly elliptic or oblong, greenish tinged. Ray florets pale
brown with filiform corolla, ca 2.5 - 3 mm long, obscurely toothed. Disc florets
brown on drying, ca 3 mm long, 5-toothed. Achenes oblong, ca 1 mm long,
papillose and minutely hairy; those of disc florets oblong, ca 0.5 mm long,
minutely papillose. Pappus hairs white, barbed.
Notes.
Very variable species with three clearly distinguished varieties as
below.
KEY TO THE VARIETIES
1a. Leaves puberulous or scaberulous above and greyish white tomentosc beneath
