Annual or perennial herb, 3–75 cm tall, sometimes rather woody and often densely tufted; stems erect or rarely decumbent or spreading.

Leaves alternate or the proximal opposite, linear to narrowly ovate, (narrowly) elliptic or oblanceolate, 0.4–10 cm long, 0.1-1.4 cm wide, base cuneate to +/- expanded-auriculate, margins sub-entire, apex obtuse to acute, apiculate, green and sparsely pubescent to silvery- grey above, white tomentose beneath.

Capitula rather few to very numerous in small to lax and diffuse terminal and upper axillary corymbiform cymes; stalks of individual capitula shortly white-hairy, involucre obconic-turbinate to campanulate- hemispherical 2–6 mm in diameter at flowering time; phyllaries 3-4 seriate, ovate to ovate-oblong, the inner 3.5–7 mm long, acute, pungent, straight or recurving at the apex, darker green and often purple-tinged at the centre towards the apex, densely pubescent to glabrescent, scarious and shortly pectinate-fimbriate at the margins.

It is native to Kenya and Tanzania, and was published by Charles Jeffrey (1934-) based on an earlier description by Robert Elias Fries in Kew Bull.

[11] It differs from the main form, in habit, leaf-shape, size of capitula (flower head) and achene (fruit).