Description: Annual or perennial herbs or small shrubs, often dichotomously branched.
Leaves cauline, alternate, entire, toothed or lobed.
Heads solitary in axils or forming terminal cymes or panicles, bisexual or ± unisexual, sessile or shortly pedunculate; involucral bracts scarious to ± herbaceous, imbricate, 3- or 4-seriate, unequal; receptacle naked, flat. Outer disc florets female, fertile, filiform, 2- or 3-toothed, without ligules; inner disc florets bisexual, sterile or functionally male, tubular, 4- or 5-toothed. Anthers minutely tailed. Style branches papillose, of outer florets short, subulate or absent, of inner florets ± fused.
Achenes ± terete, ribbed, glabrous or papillose; pappus of outer florets absent, of inner florets a minute rim of 2–7 bristles.
Distribution and occurrence: World: c. 17 species, warm-temp. & tropical Australia, America, Asia, Africa. Australia: 5 species (endemic), all mainland States.
A heterogeneous genus; currently under revision.
Text by M. F. Porteners
Taxon concept:
| | Key to the species | |
| 1 | Leaves oblong to oblong-lanceolate, sessile; heads globose to ovoid, 2–3 mm diam., in terminal panicles | Epaltes cunninghamii |
| Leaves spathulate to obovate, petiolate; heads broadly hemispherical, 4–7 mm diam., solitary | Epaltes australis |
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