Aspalathus teres Eckl. & Zeyh.

An erect shrub or small tree, 1-3(-4.5) m tall with a trunk up to 20 mm diam., and with strong branches; young branches short-tomentose. Leaflets needle-like, 7-16 mm long and ±0.6 mm thick, straight, rigid, glabrous, tapering into a sharp spinelet longer than 1 mm. Inflorescences unifloral, scattered on the branches, several to numerous on the adaxial side. Pedicel (2-)3.5-4.5 mm long, rather slender, tomentose. Bracteoles 3-6.5 mm long. Calyx tube short, broadly campanulate, ±3-4 mm long, sparsely or densely tomentose; lobes sharply demarcated from the tube, needlelike, 3-7.7 mm long, rigid, glabrous green, ending in a sharp spine. Petals yellow, turning brownish, with rather short claws. Standard blade ovate-elliptic, (7.5-)8.5-15.5(-18.5) x 7-10.5(-13.5) mm, subacute, tomentose on the back and sparsely so also on apical parts of the front and on part of the claw. Wing blades 6.5-12.5(-15) x 2.5-4.5(-5.3) mm, tomentose on the lower basal parts of the outside, with numerous rows of minute folds on more than half of the basal-central parts. Keel blades lunate, 7-13.5(-15.5) x 4-6.5(-7.2) mm with slightly S-curved upper margin rounded at the base, upcurved towards the slightly tapering apex; lower-apical third tomentulose. Pistil tomentose on ovary and basal third of style; ovules 3-6. Pod obliquely lanceolate, 14-18 x 3.5-6.7 mm, rather turgid when ripe, 1-2-seeded.