Critoniopsis tausae H. Rob. & S. C. Keeley

Shrubs or small trees up to 6 meters tall. Stems terete, dark brown, covered with grayish indument of short irregularly-shaped trichomes; internodes 0.5–1.0 cm long. Leaves alternate; petioles mostly 1.0–1.5 cm long; blades subcoriaceous, elliptical to broadly ovate-elliptical, 7–11 cm long, 2.7–4.3(–6.5) cm broad, base usually acute, without decurrence onto petiole, broad-leaved specimen (Keeley 4544) with obtuse to rounded base, margins mostly entire or with few teeth distally, broad-leaved specimen with margins distinctly serrate distally, apex acute, with little or no acumination, adaxial surface essentially glabrous, veinlets variously slightly incised to slightly prominulous, abaxial surface with prominent primary and secondary veins, tertiary veins prominulous and quaternary veinlets obscure to slightly prominulous, secondary veins ca. 8 on each half, mostly spreading at ca. 45°, arching, lower secondary veins more widely spreading in broad-leaved specimen (Keeley 4544), surface covered with dense appressed grayish pubescence, individual trichomes with short stem and stiff spreading stellate arms. Inflorescence terminal on leafy branches, densely pyramidally paniculate with corymbiform branches, mostly 9–12 cm high and wide. Branches grooved, covered with dense whitish tomentum, heads sessile or on short peduncles 1–3 mm long. Heads cylindrical, at anthesis ca. 12 mm long and 4 mm wide, with ca. 35 involucral bracts in ca. 7 series, ca. 4 rows of basal bracts densely imbricated, broadly ovate, ca. 0.5–3.5 mm long, 1.5–2.5 mm wide, with scarious lateral margins, persistent and widely spreading with age; inner bracts in ca. 3 series, oblong, 5–7 mm long, 1.5–2.2 mm wide, with narrowly recurved lower margins, with flattened rounded, dark and membranous tips, highly deciduous with age, all but basalmost bracts glabrous on outer surface; receptacle glabrous, flat. Florets 5 in a head; corollas white, funnelform, ca. 8 mm long, basal tube ca. 4 mm long, throat ca. 1.5 mm long, lobes ca. 2.6 mm long, linear-lanceolate; outer surface of upper tube, lower throat and lobes with minute monoseriate trichomes, a few glandular dots at tips of lobes; anther thecae purple, ca. 2.5 mm long, bases with short obtuse sterile margin, apical appendages ca. 0.5 mm long, oblong-ovate; style base broadened, shortly conical. Achenes light brown, ca. 4 mm long, without evident glands or setulae on surface, with longitudinal striae; Pappus white, ca. 5 mm long, inner pappus of ca. 40 capillary bristles, flattened beyond middle and slightly broadened at tips, outer pappus a series of lanceolate squamae 0.5–1.7 mm long.