Blepharis espinosa E.Phillips

Mat-forming perennial herb with prostrate much-branched stems from woody rootstock; stems to 30 cm long, sparsely minutely puberulous. Leaves with or without white edges glabrous to sparsely puberulous, densest along midrib beneath not or slightly scabrid above, one in the whorl usually much larger than the other three; lamina elliptic or narrowly so, largest 2-5.2(-7) x 0.6-1.4 cm; entire or with 1-8 small to large teeth on each side. Spikes 2-3.5 cm long, 2-8-flowered; peduncle 3-10 mm long with 2-4 pairs of sterile bracts; ferdle bracts glossy, green, whitish or not along veins and edges, sparsely minutely sericeous-puberulous, often only along veins and on edges, lower and middle 22-38 x 8-16 mm of which the slightly recurved triangular spinose tip 8-16 mm, on each side with 3-7 teeth of which the longest 3-7 mm. Bracteoles 17-22 x 1-2 mm, linear to oblinear, acuminate, slightly widened at base, puberulent along midrib and ciliate. Sepals puberulous towards apex (often only on veins), glabrous towards base, or ventral hairy to base; dorsal 18-23 mm long, 3-veined from base (branching near apex), ovate-elliptic with spathulate (rarely ligulate) apical part, apex subacute to truncate, wavy, irregularly toothed, scarious; ventral 16-21 mm long, 2(-3)-veined from base, ovate-elliptic, narrowing gradually to an apex with two triangular shortly mucronate teeth 2-4 mm long; lateral 8-11 mm long, ovate. Corolla bright purple to bright deep indigo blue, 23-32 mm long of which the tube 5-7 mm; limb 12-21 mm wide, beneath uniformly hairy, with tufts of longer hairs in sinuses between central and lateral lobes, tube distinctly ciliate; central lobe wider than long or same length, retuse to truncate, irregularly toothed, narrowed at base; filaments 7-9 mm long, glandular; appendage 1-2 mm long, oblong, straight or curved; anthers 3.5-4.5 mm long. Capsule c. 12 mm long; seed 5-6 x 3-4 mm.