Diascia hexensis K.E.Steiner

Annual herb, glabrous, simple or branching from the base. Stems up to 220 mm long, erect or decumbent, tetragonal in cross section, up to 1.5 mm on a side. Basal leaves few to many, rosulate or crowded, simple, petiolate; lamina 8-34 mm long, ovate or obovate to elliptic, apex rounded to acute or apiculate, base attenuate, margins irregularly toothed or occasionally lobed or cleft, lobes or teeth narrowly to broadly triangular, acute to apiculate; petioles up to ± 20 mm long; stem leaves opposite, alternate or verticillate, becoming reduced upwards. Flowers axillary, one flower open per stem, unscented, nodding in bud, pedicels 25-80 mm long, ascending, broadened and dorsiventrally flattened especially where attached to the flower, Elongating and ascending or recurved with only the apical portion ascending in fruit. Calyx lobes five, upper three ± equal, ± 3.1-4.0 x 0.8-1.2 mm, reflexed, lower two somewhat broader ± 3.1-4.1 x 1.2-1.4 mm, spreading, all lobes lanceolate, attenuate with white ciliate margins. Corolla bilabiate, limb ± 11.0-15.3 x 12.9-17.0 mm; upper lobes ± 3.6-4.7 x 4.2-5.0 mm, widely ovate to oblong-ovate, rounded to emarginate, bases oblique, lateral lobes ± 4.9-5.1 x 3.8-4.8 mm, oblong-ovate, rounded to emarginate, lower lobe ± 4.8-6.4 x 5.8-8.3 mm, obcordate, all lobes purple to reddish purple on front and pale purple on back, upper lobes with several darker reddish purple lines at the base, glandular pubescent especially on inside surface; tube, ± 1.0 mm deep, purple to reddish purple inside with 2 or 3 small fusiform to elliptic yellow spots at the base of each upper corolla lobe, spots on outside larger, one or two small ones and one large one or sometimes all confluent and forming a single large spot, tube drawn out below upper lip into 2 spurs ± 9.5-11.5 mm long (measured along the inseam), diverging, projecting backwards and downwards, attenuate, purple to reddish purple, containing clear to light purple, spherical, multicellular, oil-secreting trichomes in the distal half, sparsely glandular pubescent outside, tube at base of lower lip turned out to form a boss bearing the stamens, boss ± 1.0-1.3 mm high on the anticous side and 1.3-1.6 mm high posticous to the stamens, with scattered glandular hairs, connected on the posticous side to the upper lip by a septum. Stamens four, projecting forwards, filaments light purple, anticous filaments (appearing posticous due to twisting of the bases) ± 3.0-3.5 mm long, curved at the base, with scattered purple clavate trichomes on the upper portion, posticous filaments (appearing anticous) ± 2.5-2.9 mm long, ± straight, glabrous or with a few purple clavate trichomes; anthers ± 0.3-0.5 mm long, strongly cohering, yellow. Ovary ± 1.75-2.1 x 1.0-1.1 mm, oblong-ovate in outline, style ± 1.5-1.8 mm long, ± straight, stigma subcapitate, surrounded by anthers, ovules ± 90-100. Capsule ± 8.7-10.5 x 2.2-2.6 mm, narrowly falcate, ± twice as long as the calyx at maturity, seeds ± 0.7-0.8 mm long, falciform in outline, dorsal surfaced ridged, ventral surface with seed coat extended to form a cupule with an oblong opening.