Antherotoma debilis (Sond.) Jacq.-fél.

A perennial or rarely annual usually many-stemmed plant 10-95 cm tall. Stems erect, ascending or decumbent, simple or ± branched, 4-gonous and herbaceous towards the apex, cylindric and somewhat woody at the base, green or pink to dark red, sparse to ± densely hairy, the hairs white, appressed to subpatent and usually bulbous at the base; basal internodes short, those below the floral leaves very long (up to 30 cm); nodes with dense, ± stiff bristles. Leaves opposite, the floral ones closely approximate (pseudo-verticillate) and shortly petiolate; leaf-lamina 0.5-7.5 x 0.3-1.8 cm, linear-lanceolate to ovate (the lowermost the widest), acute or subobtuse at apex, contracted or attenuate at the base, crenulate-setulose (each tooth ending in a small bristle), membranous, concolorous or nearly so (of a somewhat lighter green above), appressed-setose on both faces, the setae sparse to ± dense, mainly on the nerves, longitudinally 3-5-nerved, the nerves impressed above, raised beneath, the transverse nerves and reticulation inconspicuous; petiole 2-5 mm long. Flowers in contracted cymes arranged in terminal (rarely axillary) dense, many-or sometimes few-flowered heads 1-3.5 cm in diameter, surrounded by the uppermost leaves; pedicels up to 5.5 mm long; bracts 2.5 mm long, lanceolate or elliptic, acute, scarious or with a foliaceous tip, pale green or pink with ciliate margin, persistent. Receptacle 3-4 x 3 mm, ovoid, green to bright red, sparsely setose, the bristles white, simple, or sometimes towards the summit of receptacle inserted in pairs or in clusters at the apex of short appendages. Sepals 4-5 x 2-2.5 mm, oblong-triangular, obtuse or acute with a subterminal stellate-or penicillate-setose appendage; intersepalar segments c. 2 mm long, penicillate-setose, persistent. Petals 7.5-10 mm long, mauve to deep pink or rosy-purple. Anthers of the longer stamens 4-4.5 mm long, pedoconnective 4-6 mm long with the basal appendage 2-3 mm long, spathulate and ± deeply bilobed; anthers of the shorter stamens similar to those of longer ones but shorter and with a c. 1 mm long minutely appendiculate pedoconnective. Fructiferous receptacle 3-5 x 3-3.5 mm, broadly campanulate, ovoid or subspherical. Capsule slightly shorter than the receptacle, sparsely setose on the margins of the valves and with a cup-shaped, marginally setose crown around the insertion of the style.