Greek arktos — a bear, otos — ear, an allusion to the shaggy, winged achenes.
Annual or perennial herbs or subshrubs, often woody at the base. Stems prostrate or ascending. Leaves basal and/or along stems, alternate, entire to divided. Capitula radiate, axillary or terminal, solitary, with long stalks. Involucral bracts in several rows, overlapping, unequal. Receptacle pitted, flat or convex. Ray florets female, variously coloured. Disk florets bisexual or inner ones female. Achenes obovoid, with 3-5 strong ribs or wings on 1 face, usually with long hairs. Pappus of scales or absent.
One species has become a weed in Australia, usually on disturbed sites.
Hairy, winged or ribbed achenes, often with a basal hair tuft.
About 50 species from southern Africa.
Source: (2002). Asteraceae. In: . Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 4. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 3. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.