Syncarpha gnaphaloides flowerhead

The fragrant flowerheads of Syncarpha gnaphaloides grow solitary on long peduncles above the foliage. The cylindrical, discoid flowerheads of about 1 cm in diameter have many narrow and thin, brown bracts bent backwards sharply over the otherwise white woolly covering upon the involucre. The dry, papery bracts would be in several rows, if rows had meant anything in their placement.

At the top of the flowerhead in picture the dense mass of pale yellow (fresh) to pinkish (fading) florets can be seen to be five-lobed around yellow anthers. The fruit to follow is feathery from a parachute-like appendage (Bean and Johns, 2005; Manning, 2007).