Citation: Labill., Nov. Holl. Pl. Sp. 2:56 (1806).

Derivation: Greek pous, genitive podos, foot; lepis, a scale; referring to the stalked involucral bracts.

Synonymy: Scalia Sims, Curtis's Bot. Mag. t. 956 (1806); Panaetia Cass., Annls Set. Nat. sér. 1, 17:417 (1829); Siemssenia Steetz in Lehm., Pl. Preiss. 1:467 (1845).

Common name: None

Description:
Annual and perennial herbs; vestiture of non-glandular hairs, usually fine and cobwebby; minute glandular hairs often present, especially on the involucre; stems terete, leafy and branched or scape-like; leaves both in a basal rosette and cauline, alternate, flat, entire.

Capitula terminal, long-pedunculate or rarely subsessile, solitary or in cymose inflorescences, usually heterogamous, discoid to radiate; involucres campanulate to hemispherical, many-seriate, never radiate; outer bracts sessile, scarious; intermediate bracts, with broad scarious laminae borne on successively longer rigid linear claws; innermost bracts with narrower scarious laminae on longer subherbaceous or indurated claws; receptacle flat, naked, pitted; outer florets uniseriate, female, fertile, tubular to shortly ligulate, rarely absent; corollas usually asymmetric, 3-5-toothed, rarely filiform; style branches filiform, truncate; disk florets bisexual, fertile, tubular, 5-merous; anthers tailed at the base, with acute terminal appendages; style branches truncate.

Achenes terete, papillose; pappus of numerous bristles, barbellate to shortly plumose, often connate at the base only, persistent, rarely absent from the outer achenes.

Distribution:  19 species in Australia.

Biology: No text

Taxonomic notes: (G. L. Davis (1957) Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 81:245-286.) Podolepis.

Key to Species:

1. Outer florets ligulate
2. Capitula subsessile in dense clusters	P. arachnoidea 1.
2. Capitula pedunculate, solitary or in loose inflorescences
3. Peduncles naked; ligules and disk florets white	P. capillaris 3.
3. Peduncles with scale leaves; ligules and disk florets yellow
4. Annuals; involucres 1-2.5 cm diam., 0.5-1.5 cm long
5. Bract laminae ovate, wrinkled, the intermediate ones longer than or equal to their claws	P. canescens 2.
5. Bract laminae triangular, smooth, the intermediate ones shorter than their claws	P. longipedata 6.
4. Perennials; involucres 2.5-3 cm diam., 1.5-2 cm long
6. Bract laminae smooth	P. jaceoides 5.
6. Bract laminae deeply wrinkled	P. rugata 8.
1. All florets tubular
7. Involucres campanulate, 4-5 mm long; florets shorter than the bracts	P. tepperi 9.
7. Involucres hemispherical, 6-7 mm long; florets longer than the bracts
8. Outer florets without a pappus, female	P. muelleri 7.
8. All florets with a pappus of 6-14 plumose bristles, bisexual	P. davisiana 4.

Author: Not yet available