Subshrub with stout branchlets arising from a multicipital stock and forming an approximately hemispherical cushion up to 70 cm diameter. Branchlets stout, up to 4 mm diameter, dark, emitting cord-like roots. Living leaves imbricating and distributed along the upper part of branchlets. Lamina 1.5—2.5 × 0.3-0.5 cm, linear-oblong, widened slightly near the base, subobtuse at tip, margin strongly revolute; upper surface studded with short stalked glandular hairs, lower surface densely clad in felted white tomentum of crisped hairs. Sheath merging imperceptibly with lamina, membranous, densely tomentose on outer surface, glabrous on inner. Scape 5-8 × 0.2-0.3 cm, densely tomentose with long lustrous white hairs; bracts several, linear, tomentose to glabrate. Receptacle campanulate, 1-1.5 cm diameter. Phyllaries in several series, imbricate, up to 1.2 cm long, subulate, acute, not recurved, both uniseriate and biseriate hairs present, margins densely fimbriate. Ray florets up to 2.5 cm long, limb wide and sparsely hairy, tube more so. In disc florets, corolla narrow funneliform, with both uniseriate and oblong biseriate eglandular hairs; stamen tip acute and noticeably elongated, anther tails sagittate; style bifid, the arms differentiated into a lower parallel-sided papillose portion and an upper long-triangular portion bearing long collecting hairs. Pappus bristles unequal, up to 6 mm long, c.25 in number, teeth short. Achene 4-5 × 0.8 mm, compressed, densely clad in long bifid hairs.
[Reproduced from Given (1971, New Zealand J. Bot. 9: 526-532) with permission from The Royal Society of New Zealand.]