Aspalathus ternata (Thunb.) Druce

An erect shrub fairly much branched, 0.4-1 m tall, with ascending or spreading, sometimes rather slender branches. Young branches short-sericeous. Leaves trifoliolate; those on long shoots on a tubercular or spur-like, woody leaf base, which is inconspicuous or up to 4 mm long, if spur-like then yellowish and glabrous. Short-shoots are soon developing in axils of long-shoot leaves. Leaflets linear or oblanceolate, 4-20 x 0.5-4.5 mm, obtuse to acute, flexible, completely silvery sericeous. Flowers solitary or in pairs, (i.e. a reduced head) terminating the branches, but appearing lateral because of strong growth of a branch in the axil of the uppermost leaf. Bract linear, 2.5-10 x 0.4-1.2 mm, flexible, sericeous. Pedicel absent or very short. Bracteoles similar to the bract, 4-12 x 0.4-0.8 mm. Calyx tube urceolate to campanulate, pale yellow, villous to sericeous; lobes varying from deltoid-triangular and only ±1 mm long to long and linear, up to 11 mm long, sericeous, greyish green. Petals light yellow, turning purple or brownish purple, with rather long claws and more or less sericeous pubescence on back or outer side. Standard blade ovate-circular, 9-12 x 9-11 mm, with rounded apex and cordate base. Wing blades obliquely ovate, 8-10 x 5-6.5 mm, sericeous on most parts (including part of the claw), with prominent longitudinal fold and several rows of minute folds on basal upper parts. Keel blades lunate, 6-8 x 4.5-5.2 mm, with nearly straight upper margin, sericeous on lower half (and part of the claw). Pistil sericeous on the ovary; ovules 4-8; style ± glabrous except on the base. Pods not seen.