is a Southern African herb or subshrub belonging to the family Asteraceae and was first described in 1896 in Boletim da Sociedade Broteriana 13 34.

long, dentate to pinnatifid-dentate; lamina (excluding the teeth or lobes) 2–3(4) mm.

long; margins of teeth and sinuses entire or armed with smaller spines; upper surface smooth or somewhat scabrous, slightly to densely araneose-tomentose or glabrescent; lower surface whitish felted-tomentose.

Phyllaries spreading, felted-tomentose outside, subglabrous or glabrous inside, 10–20 x 1–3 mm., linear-lanceolate, spiny-acuminate, ciliate-spinescent on the margins with spines 1–3 mm.

long, narrowly oblong, acute or subobtuse, denticulate towards the apex.The genus Berkheya was describe by the German botanist Jakob Friedrich Ehrhart in 1788 and was in honour of Dutch botanist, Johannes le Francq van Berkhey (1729–1812) - 'carlinopsis' alludes to Carlina, a genus closely resembling Berkheya.