J. Rodríguez-Oubiña (2005) Dicoma. Flora of Somalia 3: 468-473
Plants annual or perennial herbs or shrublets. Leaves alternate, often with a petiolate like base; margins entire to serrulate. Capitula campanulate, obconic, or cylindric, discoid and homogamous (raidate and heterogamous in other parts of the world), often with subtending leaves; phyllaries in many series, acuminate to pungent, coriaceous, sometimes with scarious margins; receptacle without bracts between the flowers; corollas radially symmetric, deeply 5-lobed; anthers with long-tapering, retorsely pilose tails and acute to acuminate appendages at the tips; style branches not separating, with obtuse tips and short, sweeping hairs. Achences turbinate, with (5-)8-10 prominent ribs, covering with long, ascending, stiff hairs over most of their length, basal hairs shorter and spreading; papuses of barbellate brostles in 1-several series, with or with an inner series of scales.
Dicoma includes about 50 species, all native to tropical and southern Africa. One species extends to the Arabian Peninsula, another to India and Pakistan. The Flora of Somalia reports 5 species from Somaliland.