Aspalathus shawii L.Bolus

An erect, sparingly branched shrub 0.5-1.2 m tall, with densely leafy and villous or woolly branches. Leaflets needle-like, usually 6-15 mm long, rigid, generally slightly S-curved, recurved below the apex, which is pungent, mucronate or spine-tipped, subterete, usually grey-tomentose or short-villous, except on the apex, but sometimes glabrescent and then partly to entirely green. Inflorescences unifloral, often concentrated in the apical 20-60 mm of the branches but sometimes dispersed along 120 mm or more. Bract subulate, less than 4 mm long. Pedicel 0.8-1.5 mm long, tomentose. Bracteoles lacking or small, less than 0.5(-2) mm long. Calyx campanulate, long-tomentose or villous, lobes subulate or triangular-subulate, (2-)3-8(-9) mm long, tomentose, usually spine-tipped. Petals pale to bright yellow. Standard blade 9.5-11.5 x 9.5-13.5 mm, rounded or retuse apically, glabrous on the front, tomentose either on most or (rarely) only on marginal parts, but always glabrous on basal parts of the back. Wing blades (7-)8-10.5(-11.5) x (3-)3.5-5(-5.5) mm, glabrous, with several rows of minute folds on basal half. Keel blades lunate-rostrate, apically slightly tapering, 6.5-10 x 3.5-5(-5.5) mm, glabrous. Pistil long-tomentose or woolly on most parts of ovary and sometimes on upper side of style base; ovules 2. Pod broadly lanceolate-elliptic, (8.5-)9.5-13 x 3.5-4.5 mm, at least partly white-woolly.