Brachythrix

Perennial herbs with annual stems from a small woody rootstock; rootcrowns with or without lanate tufts; roots many, thong-like and usually swelling to form root-tubers; vegetative indumentum a varying mixture of large, long-stalked, flagelliform hairs intermixed with short-stalked T-shaped hairs. Stems erect usually branching above, leafy, sometimes scapiform. Leaves alternate, sessile or subsessile, bases cuneate to auriculate; upper surface +/-scabrous, sparsely pubescent or glabrescent; lower surface pubescent or felted, sometimes finely pilose especially on the nerves, or glabrescent, glandular-punctate. Capitula homogamous, solitary or few to many in lax corymbiform cymes, or aggregated in +/-dense 3-many-capitulate terminal or laterally borne +/-scorpioidly cymose clusters. Involucre campanulate to broadly cup-shaped, occasionally subglobose or narrowly ovoid. Phyllaries imbricate, several-seriate. Receptacle +/-flat. Corollas purple, narrowly funnel-shaped, regularly deeply 5-lobed; lobes apically setulose or glabrous. Anthers with a narrowly triangular hyaline appendage at apex and short subobtuse tails at base. Style : arms subulate, hairy outside. Cypselas narrowly oblong-obovoid, 4- or 5-angular with narrow ribs on the angles, truncate to slightly rounded at apex, faces between ribs with large scattered brownish glandular cells, very sparsely hispid or glabrous. Pappus 2-seriate, outer one of short lacerate free or +/-united scales or reduced to a low rim, inner one of short very barbellate setae. Pollen described as tricolporate, subechinolophate to echinate and micropunctate.