Description:

• Much-branched shrublet, densely whitish-tomentose with axillary brachyblasts of crowded small leaves; older branches glabrous or subglabrous, often with scale-like withered leaf bases
• Leaves closely to very closely set, involute ericoid, lanceolate to obovate, entire, acute, mucronate
• Capitula discoid, mainly solitary, sometimes 2 or 3 together, 15-40-flowered
• Involucre campanulate, 4-9 mm wide
• Receptacle broadly conical, epaleate
• Involucral bracts in 3 or 4 rows, outermost foliaceous or subfoliaceous, lanceolate to narrowly ovate and acute to acuminate, inner bracts with a scarious or mostly conspicuously petaloid lamina and undivided stereome, innermost with few hairs abaxially only
• Disc florets bisexual, narrowly cylindrical, glabrous, 3.0-3.5 mm long, reddish above; lobes 5, spreading, deltoid
• Anthers with a weakly narrowing, flat, narrowly ovate apical appendage, caudate, tails long, very branched
• Style basally thickened, branches narrowly oblong, flat or semiterete, with stigmatic areas in two distinct, not confluent lines, apically truncate, penicillate; sweeping hairs short, obtuse
• Cypselas narrowly oblong, irregular, dark brown, ribbed
• Pappus barbellate, soon caducous, bristles free

Nomenclature:

• Calotesta P.O.Karis
  • Karis: 25 (1990)
  • Anderberg: 74 (1991)
  • Anderberg: 330 (1994)

Distribution & Notes:

• Southern Africa: Monotypic: Calotesta alba Karis, endemic to Western Cape