Diascia ellaphieae K.E.Steiner

Annual herb, glabrous, simple or branching from the base, stems up to 220 mm long, erect or ascending, leafless for most of their length, quadrangular in cross-section with sides up to 1.5 mm long. Basal leaves few to many, rosulate or crowded, simple, petiolate, lamina 4.0-45.6 mm long x 1.7-9.3 mm wide, ovate, deltoid, elliptic or obovate, apex rounded to acute, base attenuate, margins sinuate to irregularly lobed or divided, lobes or divisions up to ca. 3 mm long, mostly deltoid, entire and acute to apiculate, petioles 2-18 mm long; stem leaves alternate, opposite or 3-6-verticillate, sessile or petiolate, similar to basal leaves, but smaller and more deeply divided, lamina up to 30 mm long. Flowers axillary, one to four open per stem, sweetly scented, pedicels 15-45 mm long, ascending, dorsi-ventrally compressed especially where attached to flower, often recurved or spreading during capsule development (especially those arising from the basal leaves) and ascending again at time of dehiscence. Calyx lobes five, more or less equal, ca. 2.6-3.5 x 0.8-1.1 mm, spreading or reflexed, lanceolate or narrowly ovate, apex acute to attenuate, margins white ciliate. Corolla bilabiate, limb ca. (10.3-)13.5-19.0 mm long x (11.4-)14.6-19.8 mm wide; upper lobes ca. (3.4-)4.9-6.3 x (3.6-)5.3-6.7 mm, oblong to oblong-ovate, apex rounded to emarginate, base oblique, lateral lobes ca. (3.8-)5.5-6.9 x (3.9-)5.8-7.4 mm, widely obovate, apex rounded to emarginate, lower lobe ca. (3.8-)5.5-8.3 x (5.5-)7.3-10.6 mm, widely obovate, emarginate, all lobes greyish-violet with deep violet base, base sometimes with dark red veining, lobes sometimes fading distally to pastel red and basally to deep magenta, all lobes glandular puberulant especially at the base and in the adjacent tube; tube at base of upper lobes ca. 2.5-4.0 mm long, dark purplish-red with a small elliptical yellow spot below middle of each upper lobe, tube distended below spots into two rounded sacs, sacs ca. 2.5-3.1 mm x 2.3-2.7 mm, diverging from base and curving upward behind upper corolla lobes, laterally compressed, greyish-violet, usually with greenish yellow patch on outer wall, inside of sacs containing oil-secreting trichomes, mainly on lower and outer walls, tube below lateral and lower lobes with three yellow spots, spots ca. 2.0-2.5 x 1.0-2.0 mm; central portion of tube turned out to form a stamen-bearing boss, boss ca. 1.0-1.5 mm high anticous to the stamens and 0.5-1.1 mm high posticous to stamens, greyish to deep violet, narrowed to a septum that connects boss to upper lip. Stamens four, more or less erect, densely pubescent with dark purple clavate trichomes, anticous filaments (appearing to be posticous) ca. 1.8-2.6 mm long, curving forward slightly at apex and more strongly at base, posticous filaments ca. 1.6-2.3 mm long, curved upward and broadened in middle; anthers ca. 0.6-0.7 mm long, strongly cohering, yellow, posticous anthers touching the upper corolla lip. Ovary ca. 1.6-1.9 x 0.6-0.7 mm, oblong-ovate in outline laterally compressed, ovules 60-101; style ca. 1.1-1.4 mm long, more or less straight or deflected towards upper lip, mostly reddish purple, stigma surrounded by cohering anthers. Capsule 6.7-10.3 x 1.7-1.9 mm, linear to narrowly ovate in outline. Seeds ca. 0.5-0.6 mm long, semi-circular in lateral view, dorsal surface curved with parallel ridges, ventral surface more or less straight with oblong keyhole-like opening running length of seed.