Awkwardly stiffly branched, amply microphyllidious, bushy shrubs ±1-2 m tall with fuscous defoliate and glabrescent older stems and trunks, notable for long multifoliolate pinnae and silvery-pilosulous perianth of fls, the new branches, lf-axes and peduncles pilosulous-tomentulose or subappressed-pilosulous with usually flexuous, sordid or gray hairs to 0.2-0.6 mm mixed with minute red-brown granular trichomes, the narrow crowded subconcolorous but ventrally lustrous lfts either glabrous overall, or glabrous ciliolate, or thinly finely silky-strigulose dorsally, the capitula borne, solitary or 2-4 together, in axils of upper primary lvs and beyond these forming a short compact, efoliate pseudoraceme commonly nestled in foliage, sometimes barely exserted; phyllotaxy distichous. Stipules firm, lanceolate or narrowly ovate 2-7 mm, nerveless dorsally, deciduous. Lf-formula of lower or of all lvs iii—vi/46—80, but in var. oligandra pinnae of upper lvs (in some specimens of all lvs) only i-ii; lf-stks either (var. vaupesiana) of all lvs or (var. oligandra) of early lvs distant from inflorescence 1.5—5(—7.5) cm, of upper lvs of var. oligandra only 5-17 mm, the longer interpinnal segments 4-11 (-15) mm, the ventral groove bridged at insertion of pinnae; pinna-rachises commonly recurved, the longer ones (5—)6—11.5 cm, the longer interfoliolar segments 0.5-1.2 mm; lft-pulvinules 0.2-0.35 mm; lfts decrescent only at very ends of rachis, otherwise subequilong, the blades linear from shortly bluntly auriculate or obtusangulate base, obtuse, straight or very slightly incurved, the longer ones (6—)7—11.5 x 1-1.9 mm, 5-8.5 times as long as wide; venation of 4—5 simple nerves from pulvinule, the midrib forwardly displaced to divide blade l:2-2.5, one submarginal anterior and the inner posterior nerve produced, parallel to midrib, to blade’s apex, the outer 1-2 posterior ones much shorter, the whole venation delicately prominulous on both faces or immersed on upper one. Peduncles mostly 6-22 mm, exceptionally to 4 cm, ebracteate; capitula densely 5-10-fld, the receptacle 1.5-2.5 x 1.5-3 mm (rarely a fl downwardly displaced on peduncle); floral bracts ovate or deltate-acuminate 1.5-5 x 1-2.5 mm, caducous; pedicels (best seen in longitudinal section of fl) broadly turbinate or drum-shaped 0.5-1 x 0.8-1.7 mm; perianth 5-merous but 1-2 pairs of calyx-teeth sometimes adherent nearly or quite to apex, the calyx pilosulous overall or glabrescent in patches, the corolla of firm texture, densely white-silky-pilosulous overall; calyx campanulate or turbinate-campanulate 2-8 mm, the depressed-ovate or lanceolate lobes 0.4-3.5 mm; corolla 6-10.5 mm, the lobes 1.7-4 mm; androecium 14-52(-57)-merous, 3.2-5.5 cm, the stemonozone 1.6-3 mm, the comeously thickened tube 4-6 mm, the tassel either (var. vaupesiana) red overall or (var. oligandra) pallid proximally, the tassel pink-purple; no intrastaminal nectary; ovary subsessile, pilosulous above middle. Pod in profile oblanceolate 7-12.5 x 0.9-1.2 cm, densely velutinous-pilosulous overall with silvery-gray or brownish erect hairs, the sutural keels in dorsal view ±2 mm wide, the recessed valves lignescent; ripe seeds not seen.