Acmadenia laxa I.Williams

Shrubs about 20 cm tall, lax, branching from near the base with a tough rootstock. Branches short, slender, frequently opposite, pubescent with malted erect hairs, well clothed with leaves at first. Leaves of very young plants spreading-erect, soon becoming adpressed-erect, 4-8 mm long, 1-2 mm broad, opposite, 4-ranked, lanceolate, obtuse, sessile, ciliate, complicate or canaliculate, sparsely pubescent, obscurely gland-dotted. Flowers 15 mm diam., solitary, terminal, pink. Towards the flowers the pairs of leaves gradually become bract-like. Bracts two, 3.5 mm long, 2.5 mm broad, adpressed, orbicular with a blunt point at the apex, very sparsely pubescent, margins broad translucent and ciliate, midrib prominent bearing small gland-dots. Bracteoles two, 4 mm long, 3 mm broad, orbicular, apiculate, sparsely pubescent above, margins broad translucent and ciliate, midrib prominent and green towards the apex. Calyx lobes five, 5 mm long, 2.8 mm broad, elliptic, apiculate, somewhat pubescent, strongly ciliate, margins broad translucent and pinkish. Petals five, 12 mm overall with the limb 7.5 mm long, 5.2 mm broad, sub-orbicular, apex with an obtuse point, narrowed to the base, pink, ciliolate, sparsely and minutely pubescent on the upper side, minutely pubescent with a few gland dots on the underside; the claw 4.5 mm long, 1.5 mm broad, pubescent on both surfaces and ciliate at the throat of the flower, narrowed and glabrous below. Staminodes five, 1 mm long, glabrous, fairly stout with a pointed gland 0.2 mm long at apex. Filaments five, becoming 2 mm long, acicular, erect, glabrous. Anthers five, before anthesis 1.5 mm long, 0.8 mm broad, wine coloured with a minute apical gland. Pollen 60 µ long, 33 µ diam., oblong. Disc exceeds the ovary, tightly surrounds the stigma at first, dark green, exudes nectar. Stigma 0.8 diam., capitate, depressed globose, green, becoming sticky. Style becoming 1.7 mm long, terete, glabrous, erect. Ovary 5-carpellate, 0.8 mm diam., sparsely pubescent at the sides. Fruit 5-carpellate, 7 mm long, 5 mm diam., glabrous; horns short, about 1 mm long. Seed 3.5 mm long, 1.5 mm broad, black, shining.