Antiphiona Merxmüller (1954: 432)

Koekemoer, Marinda, 2018, A taxonomic revision of the genus Antiphiona (Inuleae, Asteraceae), including a report of the first collection of the genus for South Africa, Phytotaxa 347 (1), pp. 50-58 : 51-52

Antiphiona Merxmüller (1954: 432) . Type species:— Antiphiona pinnatisecta (S.Moore) Merxmüller.

Multi- or single-stemmed glandular and aromatic shrubs, 0.5–1.7 m tall. Stems branching progressively more in upper parts, those parts densely leafy, stems bare below. Leaves pinatisect or bi-pinatisect (or tripinnatisect), deeply lobed, lamina reduced to narrow strips along the main and secondary veins, margins entire, upper and lower surfaces covered in dense hairs and glands. Primary leaves on main stems much longer than axillary leaves. Capitula homogamous, discoid, solitary on short flowering branches. Involucral bracts in 4–6 rows, increasing in length from outer to inner, fleshy and green turning chaffy when mature, opening completely when achenes are released. Florets pinkish-red in exposed parts, yellow below with yellow anthers, stamens and pollen, lobes with acute one-celled trichomes. Pappus in a single row, shorter than mature florets, plumose with a flattened shaft and short hairs projecting to the sides. Achenes densely hairy, twin hairs straight, rigid, appressed.

Distribution and habitat: Namibia and South Africa in rocky open bush or grassveld on ridges or along dry watercourses.