Aspalathus rectistyla R.Dahlgren

An erect or ascending small shrub, 0.2-0.6 m tall, with rigid, straight, spreading, almost thorn-like, sparingly ramified branches short-tomentose on the young parts. Leaflets thinly subulate or acicular, 1.2-4 mm long and 0.2(-0.7) mm thick, erecto-patent, straight or slightly recurved, dark green, glabrous; the middle leaflet of the long-shoot leaves sometimes 0.4-0.7 mm broad, its woody, hard midrib brown and persisting. Flowers small, distributed along up to more than 0.1 m of the branch ends below the tips. Bract subulate, 0.4-0.6 x 0.1-0.2 mm. Pedicel 0.6-1 mm long, white-tomentulose. Bracteoles subulate, minute, 0.4-0.6 x 0.1 mm. Calyx tube 1.5-2 mm long, densely appressed-puberulous; lobes subulate, 0.9-1.8 mm long, straight, acute, subglabrous; upper two lobes distant from each other. Petals yellow to orange-yellow turning brown or purplish, all narrow and ± forwardly directed, with rather short claws. Standard blade narrowly ovate, 5.8-8.2 x 3.8-5 mm, tapering into an acute apex, tomentulose to short-sericeous on most of the back. Wing blades narrowly rectangular-elliptic, 3.7-5 x 1.3-1.8 mm, glabrous, with a major longitudinal fold and with 2-3 rows of minute folds at the base; sides of apical parts ± incurved. Keel narrowly triangular, 4.5-6 x 1.7-2.3 mm, apically prolonged, glabrous, with almost straight upper margin and prominent basal pouch. Wing and keel claws not adnate to staminal sheath. Pistil pubescent on ovary and basal third of style; style almost straight (hence the specific name). Pod triangular-ovate or broadly triangular-lanceolate, 5.4-6 x ±2.5 mm, tomentose.