Description: Annual & perennial herbs, woolly with fine septate hairs and often with minute glandular hairs, or glabrescent.
Leaves in a basal rosette and cauline, alternate, entire.
Inflorescence of terminal heads, solitary or in contracted to elongated cymes, usually discoid to radiate; heads campanulate to hemispherical, usually with scale leaves at the peduncle apex merging with involucral bracts; outer bracts sessile, scarious; intermediate bracts, when differentiated, with scarious laminas on successively longer rigid linear claws. Outer florets yellow, rarely white, in 1 row, female, fertile, tubular to ligulate, rarely absent. Disc florets yellow, rarely white, bisexual, fertile, tubular, 5-toothed. Style branches truncate.
Achenes terete, papillose; pappus of numerous bristles, barbellate to shortly plumose, free or fused at the base only, rarely absent from outer florets.
Distribution and occurrence: World: 18 species, endemic Australia. Australia: all States.
Text by J. Everett; updated Louisa Murray July 2016
Taxon concept:
Taxa not yet included in identification key
Podolepis decipiens
| | Key to the species | |
| 1 | Peduncles apex naked below the involucre | 2 |
| Scale leaves present towards the apex of peduncles, merging into outer involucral bracts | 4 |
| 2 | Outer florets with small mostly white ligules | Podolepis capillaris |
| All florets tubular and yellow
Back to 1 | 3 |
| 3 | Disc florets longer than bracts; inner involucral bracts fused to form leathery cup | Podolepis muelleri |
| All florets shorter than the bracts; inner involucral bracts not as above
Back to 2 | Podolepis tepperi |
| 4 | Laminas of intermediate involucral bracts transversely wrinkled | 5 |
| Laminas of intermediate involucral bracts smooth
Back to 1 | 6 |
| 5 | Heads to 6 mm diam., to 10 mm long | Podolepis arachnoidea |
| Heads 15–25 mm wide, to 15 mm long
Back to 4 | Podolepis canescens |
| 6 | Lamina of intermediate involucral bracts triangular or narrow-acuminate, not obscuring the claws of adjacent bracts | 7 |
| Lamina of intermediate involucral bracts ovate, more or less obscuring the claws of adjacent bracts
Back to 4 | 9 |
| 7 | Laminas shorter than claws, triangular, the claws distinct, glandular, cartilaginous | Podolepis longipedata |
| Laminas subequal to or shorter than claws, narrow- acuminate; claws not abruptly differentiated, glabrous, leathery with a pale centre and green margin
Back to 6 | 8 |
| 8 | Flowerhead drying golden brown; intermediate involucral bracts 9–14 mm long, apex acute to obtuse | Podolepis neglecta |
| Flowerhead drying straw coloured;intermediate involucral bracts 5–8 mm long, apex acuminate
Back to 7 | Podolepis omissa |
| 9 | Laminas acuminate, more or less reflexed | Podolepis jaceoides |
| Laminas obtusely ovate, loosely appressed
Back to 6 | 10 |
| 10 | Leaves broadly sheathing at the base; upper leaves entire with undulate margins | 11 |
| Leaves stem-clasping; upper leaves with entire margins, but not undulating
Back to 9 | 12 |
| 11 | Basal leaves bright green and glabrous | Podolepis robusta |
| Basal leaves greyish when young becoming green with short, crisped multicellular hairs overlain by fine arachnoid hairs, the latter usually denser on the abaxial surface, becoming sparser with age
Back to 10 | Podolepis laciniata |
| 12 | Leaves lanceolate or oblanceolate, scape mostly glabrous | Podolepis hieracioides |
| Leaves ovate to obovate; scape always woolly hairy
Back to 10 | Podolepis monticola |
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