Aspalathus setacea Eckl. & Zeyh.

An erect or ascending shrub usually 0.25-1(-2) m tall, sparsely or densely branched; young branches short-villous to woolly or sericeous. Leaves dull green. Leaflets spreading or ascending, linear, (2-)3-15(-18) mm long, 0.3-0.5 mm thick, subterete, straight or slightly incurved or recurved, rigid or rather weak, (acute-) spine-tipped, glabrous or short-to long-sericeous. Inflorescences unifloral on lateral short-shoots, several to numerous along leafy branch ends. Flowers rather small. Bract linear or subulate-acicular, 0.5-4.5 mm long, 0.1-0.2 mm broad (thick), sparsely sericeous, acuminate or cuspidate. Pedicel 0.2-1.5 mm long, villous. Bracteoles lacking or present, rarely up to more than 3 mm long. Calyx tube broadly globose-campanulate, short-villous to velutinous, sometimes sericeous; lobes narrowly triangular to linear, (1-)2-8.5 mm long, pointed (sharply acuminate to spine-tipped), when short then flat and subglabrous to puberulous, with ± distinct mid-vein, when long then sericeous. Petals pale to bright yellow, often turning brownish. Standard blade broadly elliptic-obovate, 6.5-10 x 5-8(-9.5) mm, rounded to retuse, sericeous or partly tomentose on the back, glabrous or ± short-sericeous on apical-marginal parts of front; apex with a straight tip or cusp 0.1-2 mm long. Wing blades 5-8 x 1.7-2.5(-3) mm, tomentose or sericeous on the lower parts, glabrous on most parts; with ±4 rows of minute folds on the basal half. Keel blades lunate, 4.5-7 x 2.2-3.5(-4) mm, (tomentose or) sericeous on most parts except along upper margins: this from nearly straight to, and usually, ± S-curved. Pistil densely hairy on ovary and style base; ovules 2. Pod convex-lanceolate, 7.5-11 x 3-4.5 mm, greyish tomentose or partly sericeous.