Shrub to 60 cm tall, glabrous to densely hairy. Stems erect or ascending. Leaves to 5 cm long, to 0.4 cm wide, entire to densely divided, with segments to about 2 mm long. Capitula solitary, to 2 cm across, long-stalked; summer. Florets bright yellow.

Western Europe

subsp. canescens (Lag.) Nyman. Plant densely white- to grey-hairy; leaves entire or densely lobed. [S. pectinata Lag.]

subsp. rosmarinifolia. Plant glabrous to sparsely hairy; leaves entire or sparsely lobed. [S. virens Mill., S. viridis Willd.]

Source: Lawson, L.; Spencer, R. (2002). Dahlia. In: Spencer, R.. 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.