Aspalathus aculeata Thunb.

An erect, sparsely to rather densely branched shrub 0.6-1 m tall, with rigid, rather thick and strong branches. Young branches villous or tomentose. Leaves of long-shoots basally with a woody, straight or slightly recurved leaf base spine (2-)3-7 (rarely up to 10) mm long; leaflets linear, 2-5(-7) mm long, ±0.5-0.6 mm broad, usually slightly flattened, weak, bright green, glabrous or very sparsely hairy, acute or subobtuse. Inflorescence a terminal compact head of 3-10 flowers. Bracts trifoliolate (inner ones sometimes unifoliolate), its leaflet situated on and ±2 mm from the base of a leaf base spine up to 5 mm long (sometimes lacking on innermost bracts); leaflets linear, 3-9.5 x 0.6-1.4 mm, acute or apiculate, apically slightly recurved, ciliate on margins. Pedicel extremely short. Bracteoles narrower than but similar to the bract leaflets, 5.5-11.5 x 0.25-0.8 mm. Calyx tube campanulate-urceolate, pale, sericeous (-woolly); lobes linear-triangular, 3.5-10 mm long, green, ± recurved, ciliate on the margins, acuminate. Petals bright or light yellow. Standard blade obtriangular-obovate, 11-14.5 x 9.5-13 mm, apically rounded-retuse but with a short 'tip', densely sericeous on the back. Wing blades narrowly elliptic-ovate, 7.3-10 x 2.8-4.4 mm. Keel blades lunate, 8.2-10 x 4.4-5.3 mm, glabrous, with ± straight upper margin and prominent basal pouch. Wing and keel claws attached to the staminal sheath for more than half of their length. Pistil long-pubescent only on apex of ovary and style base. Pod triangular-ovate, 6-6.5 x 3.5-4 mm, glabrous or ± pubescent on apical parts.