Decumbent to ascending annual, 2–15 cm high, mainly glabrous but sometimes with scattered eglandular hairs. Leaves mostly or only basal, sometimes linear but usually pinnatisect, 1–8 cm long, 3–9-lobed, lobes linear, to 13 mm long, obtuse, often slightly succulent, mainly glabrous but some broad eglandular hairs usually present. Bracts 5–14, 1-seriate, c. equal, ovate to broadly obovate, 2.3–6.8 mm long, 1.3–4.3 mm wide, mainly herbaceous but with scarious, often purplish margins, glabrous; ligules 1.8–5(–6) mm long, white; disc florets 10–35. Cypselas more or less obtriangular, straight, 2.2–3.2 mm long (excluding pappus), 1.2–1.7 mm wide, pale brown, with a dense, unbroken line of c. 2 mm long, eglandular hairs on the ridge of each lateral face; pappus 1–1.3 mm long, bristles rather broad, irregularly fimbriate, fused in the lower one-third to half. Flowers Aug.–Oct.
LoM, MuM, Wim, VVP, VRiv, MSB, RobP, MuF, Gold, GGr, NIS. Also WA, SA, NSW. Mainly found in the north-west of the state where locally common in a diversity of habitats, e.g. on red sand-dunes in the north-west mallee and on heavier soils on swamp and lake margins.
