Description: Annual or perennial herbs or dwarf shrubs.
Leaves alternate, sometimes opposite or clustered, simple.
Heads terminal, solitary or rarely clustered, pedunculate; involucral bracts in several series; receptacle flat or convex, naked. Ray florets many, in 2 or more series, female; style branches subulate to narrow-ovate, glabrous; achene fertile; pappus of several to many free, barbellate bristles or of capillary bristles more or less united in clumps. Disc florets bisexual but usually functionally male; style branches subulate or narrow-ovate, pubescent; achene sterile or rarely fertile; pappus of dimorphic hairs with both short and long more or less free, barbellate bristles or scales or else a cup of fused scales surmounted by 1–8 bristles, sometimes of uniform long bristles only.
Distribution and occurrence: World: c. 10 species, endemic Australia. Australia: all States except Tas.
Text by N. S. Lander Taxon concept:
Taxa not yet included in identification key
Minuria scoparia
| Key to the species | |
1 | Stems and peduncles glabrous | 2 |
| Stems and peduncles sparsely to densely pubescent | 3 |
2 | Uppermost leaves overtopping heads; disc florets with corolla tube 2–2.8 mm long | Minuria annua |
| Uppermost leaves not overtopping heads; discfloretswith corolla tube c. 0.3 mm long Back to 1 | Minuria integerrima |
3 | Stems more or less woolly with stellate hairs;leaves with margins conspicuously toothed; sometimesentire apically | Minuria denticulata |
| Stems pubescent with simple hairs; leaves with marginsentire Back to 1 | 4 |
4 | Leaves glabrous; ray florets with pappus 7.6–9 mm long | Minuria cunninghamii |
| Leaves subglabrous to pubescent;florets with pappus2.5–4 mm long Back to 3 | Minuria leptophylla |
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