Propagule or dispersal unit is the fruit. Fertile part 5-8 mm long, 2-3.5 mm wide, in side view widest in upper part (obovoid), +/- straight, the upper (apical) end narrowing, in cross-section flattened or angular (prismatic), basal scar (carpopodium) inconspicuous and undifferentiated, central, beak (=thinner sterile stalk between seed and pappus) absent, wings absent, fruit surface dark brown, wrinkled, with no hairs (glabrous), thickened margin absent, longitudinal ribs present, 4-6, their surfaces smooth, with no hairs (glabrous).
Pappus absent.
Low perennial, woody herb or subshrub; seeds large and heavy, without obvious dispersal syndrome. Warm-temperate to subtropical regions. Widely cultivated as an ornamental, sometimes weedy as a garden escape.
Southern Africa.