Blepharis hirtinervia T.Anderson

Erect shrub to 50 cm tall; branches monopodial (really peduncles) with opposite spinose leaves (really sterile bracts) supporting dwarf-shoots carrying usually a single whorl of vegetative leaves; young branches greyish to reddish brown, puberulous or densely so, soon pale to dark grey. Leaves (sterile bracts) hard and leathery, glossy, glabrous, 1-3 cm long with 1-2 spinose teeth per side to 1 cm long; vegetative leaves (on dwarf shoots) fleshy, glabrous or with a few hairs on midrib; lamina elliptic or slightly obovate, largest 2.5-5.5 x 0.5-1.2 cm; margin with 1-9 teeth per side or some entire. Spikes terminal on branches, 3-8.5 cm long, 6-20-flowered; fertile bracts hard and leathery, glossy, greenish to brownish, with distinctly raised transverse veins, lower pairs subglabrous to sparsely puberulous, upper pairs puberulous to densely pubescent (densest and longest along veins and margins), obovate or broadly so, lower and middle 23-35 x 9-16 mm of which the straight or slightly recurved triangular or broadly triangular spinose tip 5-12 mm, on each side with 3-5 spinose teeth of which the longest 3-6 mm. Bracteoles 15-23 x 2-4 mm, lanceolate to narrowly elliptic or oblanceolate, sometimes expanded on one side and then sometimes with 1 (-2) teeth on that side, 1 (-3)-veined. Sepals sparsely puberulous to densely pubescent; dorsal 18-25 mm long, 5-veined from base, broadly ovate-elliptic with short to long ligulate to spathulate apical part, apex truncate, irregularly toothed or 3-toothed, becoming scarious; ventral 16-22 x (7-) 8-12 mm, 5-7-veined from base, 3-4-veined (2 strong and 1-2 weaker central) at apex, broadly elliptic-obovate, narrowing gradually to a truncate apex with 2 large triangular teeth 1.5-4 mm long, usually also with 1-6 smaller teeth between these and often with 1-4 smaller lateral teeth per side; lateral 9-15 mm long, ovate. Corolla white to pale purple with darker veins, 25-35 mm long of which the tube 5-8 mm; limb broadly spathulate, 12-24 mm wide, central lobe wider than long, truncate to retuse, irregularly toothed, narrowed at base; filaments 8-11 mm long, glabrous to sparsely glandular (denser downwards), hairy towards base; appendage 3.5-5 mm long, oblong, rounded, sometimes twisted, same length or longer than anthers; anthers 4-6 mm long. Capsule c. 11 mm long; seed ± 7 x 4.5 mm.