Description: Herbs to small shrubs.
Leaves cauline, opposite but the uppermost alternate, lanceolate to linear or pinnate, margins entire or toothed at apex.
Inflorescence terminal, heads in congested panicles or corymbs; heads cylindrical; involucral bracts 5, herbaceous, in 1 row, ± imbricate; receptacle naked, flat. Ray florets absent. Disc florets bisexual, tubular, 5-toothed, usually hairy. Anthers obtuse at the base, with apical appendage. Style branches linear, obtuse, dense-papillose.
Achenes cylindrical to clavate, 4–5-angular; pappus variable, a jagged cup, fused scales and/or bristles.
Distribution and occurrence: World: 150 species, tropical & subtropical America. Australia: 1 species (naturalized).
Text by M. F. Porteners
Taxon concept:
| One species in NSW: Stevia eupatoria |
|
