Aspalathus bracteata Thunb.

A procumbent (or rarely prostrate) or scrambling, diffusely branched shrublet, with slender, weak branches up to longer than 1 m (rarely up to longer than 1.5 m), but often shorter. Young branches usually pale, short-and appressed hairy or glabrous. Leaves trifoliolate; long-shoots ultimately with axillary leafy short-shoots; leaflets therefore 3 together on young, several on older branches. Leaflets linear, (1-)2-50 mm long, less than 1 mm broad, terete or ± flat, weak, green, glabrous or ± pubescent, acute-acuminate or subobtuse. Inflorescence terminal, unifloral, rarely 2-or 3-floral (with flowers at some distance), always on the end of a leafless peduncle (3-)10-40(-60) mm long, slender, sparsely appressed-puberulous or glabrous. Bract linear(-lanceolate), flat or subterete, from shorter than 1 to longer than 4 mm, acute-acuminate, green, usually subglabrous. Pedicel 1-2 mm long, pubescent. Bracteoles approximately of same size as the bract. Calyx tube campanulate-infundibuliform, usually sparsely appressed-puberulous; lobes generally broadly subulate, 1-4 mm long. Petals light or bright yellow or the standard back ± violet, claws relatively short. Standard blade broadly obtriangular-obovate, 5-9 x 6-10 mm, obcordate or retuse, densely sericeous on most or all of the back. Wing blades narrowly elliptic or obovate, 4.5-8 x 2-3 mm. Keel blades 4-7.5 x 2.7-4 mm, with ± straight or slightly S-curved upper margin. Pistil with linear, elongate ovary; pubescent both on ovary and basal half of the style, rarely pubescent only on upper and lower margins; ovules 2-10. Pod oblong, elliptic, lanceolate or oblanceolate, compressed, 13-16 x ±4 mm, smooth, sparsely puberulous or rarely largely glabrous.