Elephantopus

Perennial +/-hirsute herbs with annual stems from a woody rootstock; roots many, thong-like; vegetative indumentum sparse to dense, consisting of patent to appressed, stiff, bristle-like hairs. Stems 1-several, leafy or scapiform, branching above. Leaves alternate, often basal, sessile, or narrowly attenuate and petiole-like before widening into a +/-stem-clasping, +/-stem-sheathing base; upper leaves grading into leaf-like bracts. Capitula homogamous, few-flowered, many, syncephalous in bracteate glomerules; glomerules terminal on stiff inflorescence branches, laxly corymbiform-cymose tending to subscorpioid-cymose. Involucre narrowly ovoid-cylindric; phyllaries few-seriate, +/-cartilaginous with pungent apices, strigose to densely hispid or glabrescent. Receptacle small, plane. Corollas 5-lobed, asymmetric, more deeply cleft on one side. Anthers sagittate at base. Style : branches linear-terete, hairy. Cypselas narrowly turbinate-cylindric, +/-10-ribbed, usually glandular between ribs, setulose; pappus 1-seriate, setae 5-10 with bases broad, scale-like and usually overlapping, gradually or abruptly tapering and subterete, barbellate above.