Metalasia.| COMPOSITZ (Harv.) 265 
2. L. muscoides (DC.! lc. 246); heads with few (5-6) perfect, and 
many (30-50) female, marginal flowers in several rows. Gnaph.muscoides, 
Desf, Atlant. 2, p. 267. 231. Lasiopogon lanatum, Cass. Bull. Philom. 
1818, p. 75. 
Has. Tarka, FE. & Z.! S. Africa, Drege. (Herb. Sd., D.) 
Stems 1-3 inches long, many from the crown, diffuse or prostrate, closely much 
branched, very woolly. Leaves spathulate, 3-5 lines long, 1-2 lines wide, very 
woolly. Tufts of heads ending all the branches. Iny. scales obtuse, testaceous. 
This little plant, besides being found in North Africa, occurs in several parts of 
Central Asia and in 8. Europe. Itis much more closely branched, more procumbent 
and woolly than Z. micropoides, with which, in Drege’s distribution, it is confounded. 
It is easily known by the few perfect and many female fl. in each head. 
LXXXIV. METALASIA, R. Br. 
Heads few or many-fl., homogamous; all the fl. tubular, 5-toothed, 
perfect. ecept. naked. Jnv. scales closely imbricated, the outer often 
acute or acuminate, inner mostly dilated and coloured at the apex. 
Young .achene attenuated towards each end, somewhat stipitate and 
beaked ; ripe fr. sessile. Pappus uniseriate, of several rather broad, 
serrulate or clavate bristles. DC. Prodr. 6, p. 249. Also Erythropogon, 
DC. 1. ¢: p. 254. 
Erect or spreading, small shrubs. Branches mostly tomentose, closely leafy 
throughout. Leaves alternate, sessile, coriaceous, linear or oblong, with involute 
margins, concave and tomentose above, convex beneath and either shining-glabrous 
or clothed with deciduous wool, very generally spirally twisted. Axils very fre- 
quently leaf-bearing. Heads cylindrical or turbinate, rarely solitary, mostly corym- 
bose or fascicled. Inner inv. scales petaloid, white or purple, rarely yellow. Corollas 
purple or whitish. Name from peta, on the other side, and Aacws, hairy ; alluding 
to the foliage. The species are difficult to characterize. 
Subgenus 1. EryrHropocon. Hds. 100-200-flowered. Pappus rufous. (Sp. 1-2. 
Leaves lanceolate, straight, erect, not gemmuliferous. 
Inner inv. scales acute, radiating, white .. ...... (1) imbricata. 
Lys. linear, spirally twisted, gemmuliferous. Inner inv. 
BORIGE OOLUBE, TORT 5 Fe iss xed, own ost; See ose (2). umbellata, 
Sub-genus 2. Eu-meranasta. Heads 3-10-flowered. Pappus white. (Sp. 3-20.) 
Glomerate ; Heads sessile in tufts, matted together by woolly hairs : 
Petaloid inv. scales imbricated in 3~4 rows, obtuse : 
Lys. lance-linear and linear, spiral, squarrose (3) Cephalotes. 
Lys. obovate-cymbiform, very convex at back, 
erecto-patent, tapering at base... ... ... (4) cymbeefolia. 
Petaloid inv. scales uniseriate, acute : 
Dwarf, prostrate, divaricately much branched; 
lvs. ovato-cymbiform, convex backed _..._ (5) depressa. 
Diffuse, slender ; lvs. linear or lance-linear, 
twisted ... (6) divergens. 
Capitate ; Heads sessile in tufts, but not matted together : : 
Lys. tufted, spirally twisted ... ... ... ... «. (7) capitata. 
Lys. solitary, hook-pointed, not twisted ... ... (8) aduneca. 
Condensate ; Heads subsessile or shortly pedicellate, in dense, roundish or 
imperfectly capitate tufts : 
8-10-fl., corymbulose ; petaloid inv. scales 
Heads 3~5-flowered : 
Petaloid inv. scales imbricated in 3-4 rows : 
Stems robust, erect, much branched; iny. 
scales obtuse ee ie eee 
(9) Lichtensteinii. 
(10) nitidula, 
