Woody-based herb with branchlets arising from a multicipital stock at ground level; living leaves in rosettes at the tips of branchlets, the whole plant forming small patches of several rosettes; leaf sheaths densely imbricate and compacted, forming a pseudo-stem. Leaf lamina (12)-19-(27) × (0.5)-0.6- 0.7) cm, coriaceous, erect or slightly curved, linear; upper surface with a prominent medial groove, somewhat sulcate in some plants, concolorous, dull green with an conspicuous silver-leaden pellicle; lower surface densely covered in glistening appressed tomentum, midrib prominent; tip acute; margins entire, revolute. Petiole short. Sheath up to 8 × 1.5 cm, greenish or slightly yellowish, clad in floccose white hairs. Scape clad in appressed white hairs, stout, up to 30 cm long; bracts numerous, erect, up to 4 cm long, margins revolute; monocephalous. Ray florets c. 70, ligulate, the limb linearspathulate, white. Disc florets 100-150, 7-8 mm long, funneliform, yellow, tube with long eglandular hairs. Achene more or less fusiform, grooved, 5-9 mm long, glabrous or rarely with a few short appressed bifid hairs. Pappus unequal, 6-9 mm long, of 30-40 barbellate bristles.
[Reproduced from Given (1980, New Zealand J. Bot. 18: 127-140) with permission from The Royal Society of New Zealand.]