Description:

• Annual or perennial herbs, sometimes decumbent, rooting at nodes
• Leaves alternate, long pilose to glabrous, pinnatisect to bipinnatisect, rarely entire
• Capitula radiate or discoid, pedunculate, solitary or paniculate, terminal
• Involucral bracts in 2-4 rows, narrowly oblong to elliptic to almost quadrate, with membranous margin and apex, long pilose or felted to glabrous
• Receptacle flat or convex, paleate; paleae membranous
• Ray florets when present, few, female; corolla white or reddish; tube sometimes flattened, with short or long lamina
• Disc florets numerous, corolla sometimes reddish; tube campanulate above, with 5 ovate lobes
• Anthers ecalcarate and ecaudate; with lanceolate apical appendage; endothecial tissue polarised
• Style terete, discoid at base, with linear, truncate branches
• Cypselas oblong-ovate, slightly flattened, smooth, dark yellow-brown, copiously woolly
• Pappus 0
• x = 9, 10

Nomenclature:

• Lasiospermum Lag.
  • Lagasca: 31 (1816)
  • Harvey: 153 (1865)
  • Müller: 124 (1988)
  • Bremer & Humphries: 94 (1993)
  • Bremer: 451 (1994)

Distribution & Notes:

• Global: Species 4, Egypt and southern Africa
• Southern Africa: Species 4, Namibia, North-West, Gauteng, Free State, Lesotho, Northern, Western and Eastern Cape