Blepharis squarrosa T.Anderson

Perennial herb with decumbent to ascending or erect unbranched or little-branched stems from a woody rootstock, often more or less leafless when flowering; stems (including peduncles) to 30 cm long, minutely scabrid-puberulous with bulbous-based hairs when young. Leaves subglabrous to sparsely and minutely scabrid-puberulous, often only on midrib; lamina ovate to elliptic or narrowly so, largest (2.5-)3.5-10.5 x (0.5-)0.8-2 cm; margin with (4-)6-15 spreading teeth per side. Spikes 4.5-12(-16) cm long, 8-30-flowered; peduncle (2-)5-18(-23) cm long, minutely scabrid-puberulous, with 4-15 pairs of widely spaced sterile bracts, upper pairs similar to and close to fertile, fertile bracts green, sparsely sericeous-puberulous along main veins, otherwise glabrous to sparsely minutely puberulous, upper 1/3-1/2 recurved to below first pair of lateral teeth (rarely straight), lower and middle ovate or broadly so, 30-65 (-75) x 10-20 mm of which the triangular spinose tip (above first pair of lateral teeth) 10-25 mm, on each side with 5-8(-10) teeth of which the longest 3-7(-10) mm. Bracteoles 15-24 x 2.5-5 mm, narrowly ovate-elliptic to obovate, acute to acuminate (rarely toothed near apex), with very distinct transverse veins. Sepals minutely puberulous to puberulous, ventral uniformly so or denser towards apex, dorsal densest along veins, ciliate; dorsal 18-25 mm long, 3-5-veined from base, broadly ovate-elliptic with long spathulate apical part, apex truncate, wavy, irregularly toothed; ventral 14-21 mm long, 5-veined from base, broadly ovate, narrowing gradually to an apex with 2(-3) triangular mucronate teeth 1.5-3.5 mm long; lateral 9-13 mm long, ovate-elliptic, cuspidate. Corolla white to pale blue or bluish purple, usually hidden under bracts, 20-37 mm long of which the tube 5-8 mm; limb obovate-spathulate, 12-16 mm wide, central lobe about as wide as long, retuse, slightly narrowed at base; filaments 7-10 mm long, sparsely glandular; appendage 0.5-1(-1.5) mm long or almost absent, curved, rounded at apex; anthers 4-5 mm long. Capsule 2-4-seeded, 12-13 mm long; seed ± 5 x 4 mm.