Description: Perennial herbs or small shrubs, with glandular and non-glandular hairs; stems branching, with continuous herbaceous wings, becoming woody below.
Leaves cauline, alternate, entire or toothed, decurrent.
Heads sessile, terminal or subterminal, in sessile or pedunculate compound heads, lacking a general involucre; bracts of partial involucre 2-seriate, the outer short, herbaceous, woolly; inner much longer, scarious, glabrous or ciliate; receptacle naked, flat. Outer disc florets numerous, female, fertile, filiform, 2- or 3-toothed, without ligules; inner disc florets solitary [to few], bisexual, sterile, tubular, 4- or 5-toothed. Anthers tailed. Style branches glabrous, of outer florets filiform, of inner florets flattened to subulate.
Achenes terete or slightly compressed, sparsely hairy; pappus a single row of minutely barbellate bristles.
Distribution and occurrence: World: 18 species, America, Asia, New Guinea, Australia, New Caledonia. Australia: 6 species (2 species endemic), all mainland States except Vic.
Text by M. F. Porteners
Taxon concept:
| | Key to the species | |
| 1 | Compound heads many together, forming a continuous or interrupted spike, 6–8 mm diam., more than 2 cm long | Pterocaulon redolens |
| Compound heads solitary, globose to ovoid, 10–20 mm diam., less than 2 cm long | Pterocaulon sphacelatum |
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