Description:

• Perennial herbs with vestiture of flexuous, thin-based hairs
• Leaves in basal rosette, thick, broadly obovate, crenate or entire
• Capitula radiate, solitary, terminal, on long, bracteate peduncles, rarely corymbose
• Involucre campanulate; bracts in 3-5 rows
• Receptacle flat, honeycombed, sometimes with rims of pits slightly produced, epaleate
• Ray florets female, fertile; with staminodia; corolla white, pink or purple; tube cylindric, with 3-toothed, elliptic or spathulate lamina
• Style terete, sometimes undivided; branches linear, obtuse
• Disc florets bisexual, fertile; corolla yellow; tube cylindric below, tubular or gradually expanding above and 5-lobed
• Anthers linear, ecalcarate and ecaudate; with lanceolate or ovate, apical appendage
• Style terete or linear, with linear or lanceolate branches
• Cypselas narrowly oblong to oblong-oblanceolate, (2 or 3)4-6-nerved, flattened but plump, glandular and often densely strigose-sericeous, surface tan at maturity
• Pappus persistent, 1 or 2 rows of plumose bristles, or inner row of bristles and outer row of scales

Nomenclature:

• Mairia Nees
  • Nees: 247 (1832)
  • Harvey: 64 (1865) as Mairea
  • Bremer: 425 (1994)
  • Nesom: 90 (1994)

Distribution & Notes:

• Southern Africa: Species 3, endemic, Western Cape