Aspalathus acicularis E.Mey.

An erect, branched shrub or shrublet, 0.25-1.5 m tall, usually with rigid, straight, spreading branches, often ending as naked pungent thorns, sometimes weaker and non-thorny; young branches pale yellow, shortly and sparsely sericeous. Leaflets slightly to distinctly flat, linear-oblanceolate, 1-7 x 0.5-1 mm, acute, apiculate or acuminate, glabrous or short-and white-sericeous. Inflorescences terminal on branches, unifloral or a 2-10-flowered raceme, inflorescence axis then often exserted as a thorn, flowers closely set or usually at distances of 0.4-4 mm. Bract caducous, subulate-oblong, 0.8-2 mm long, subglabrous or pubescent. Pedicel 0.8-2.3 mm long, glabrous or tomentose. Bracteoles 0.3-1.2 mm long. Calyx glabrous or puberulous; lobes deltoid-triangular to triangular-subulate, 0.5-2.5 mm long, acute-acuminate. Petals pale yellow or standard and keel partly rose-coloured. Standard blade 4.5-6(-7) x 3.5-5.3 mm, short-sericeous on apical quarter to three-quarters of the back. Wing blades (2.7-)3.3-5 x 1.5-2.1 mm, with ±5 rows of minute folds. Keel blades (3.5-)4.5-6 x 2-3.5 mm, with straight or slightly convex upper margin. Pistil glabrous or with some pubescence on upper basal part of ovary; ovules 2. Pod broadly lanceolate, 9.5-12.5 x 3.5-4.5 mm, grey or often with rose-coloured tinge.