Rachelia glaria

Detailed description

Tufted, silver-grey perennial herb with widely spaced groups of 1–10 upright shoots, 10–30 × 10 mm in diameter, produced from long, slender, branched rhizomes. Aerial stems sparingly and shortly branched or sometimes unbranched, entirely obscured by leaves. Leaves imbricate, with leaf base clasping stem and with lamina spreading at an angle of c. 45°, broadly obovate-spathulate, 6.9–9.7 × 4.6–8.5 mm wide, densely lanate all over both surfaces; lamina 4.2–6.5 mm long, widest in upper ⅓, slightly folded along midrib; apex truncate, not mucronate; leaf hairs loosely appressed, ascending, matted, crinkled at free ends; base 2.5–4.4 mm long, widest in upper ⅓, frequently pink-tinged, with 3 strong veins. Capitula 2–9 per stem, one terminal and associated with 2 leaves, the others usually sessile in the axils of the upper leaves, rarely terminal on very short axillary shoots with no stem elongation and with 2 small leaves; capitula cluster, including leaves, 15 mm in diameter. Capitulum 7.7–9.0 × 1.7–3.0 mm. Involucral bracts 14–15, outermost bracts 5–7 × 2.6 mm including margins; innermost bracts narrowly rhombic, 7.1–7.6 × 2.2 mm including margins; lamina 3.3 × 1.0 mm, pale brown near base, bright brown above; apex acute; margins broad, hyaline; stereome 3.8–4.7 mm long, pale green, not fenestrated, vein extending into lamina. Receptacle 0.5–1.0 mm in diameter, high and rounded with florets attached to the sides as well as the top. Florets 7–11, all of the female and some of the hermaphrodite florets arranged in a ring and surrounding the remaining hermaphrodite florets. Female florets 3–5; corolla 4.2 mm long, red below lobes, otherwise translucent pale green; tube 0.15 mm wide, broadening to 0.3 mm at base. Hermaphrodite florets 3–6; corolla 4.6 mm long, broadening only slightly above, red below lobes; tube 0.4 mm wide; lobes 0.6 mm long, translucent pale green with a small variable amount of red pigment, not spreading, margins papillose, veins sometimes extending to tip, but variable in a single floret; biseriate capitate hairs on lobes and a few on upper part of tube, a few simple long-tailed hairs on lobes. Anthers far exserted from corolla; apical anther appendage flat, tapering; anther tails far exceeding filament collar. Mature cypsela 1.5–1.9 × 0.8 mm, ridged, reddish or brown; papillate. Pappus hairs 5.3–5.6 mm long; shaft 40–55 μm wide.