Diosma oppositifolia L.

Shrubs 0.15-1 m tall, erect or sprawling with many stems arising from a stout persistent rootstock. Branches fairly slender, glabrous, dark brown, tough, devoid of leaves after about 2 years, tending to become decumbent. Branchlets erect, slender, numerous, sparsely puberulous, yellow, leafy. Leaves 5-10 mm long, longer in new shoots after fires, 1-1.3 mm broad, narrow-linear, lanceolate or often sub-falcate, glabrous, complicate when dry, opposite, spreading-erect, longer than the internodes, subulate, apex acute with a sharp point or obtuse with a callus, somewhat bent outwards; margins thin, narrowly cartilaginous, sparsely ciliolate; adaxial surface smooth, rather concave, channelled when dry; abaxial surface rounded, gland-dotted to either side, narrowed very slightly at the base; petiole about 0.5 mm long, adpressed. Inflorescence terminal with the sessile flowers arising in pairs or sub-terminal-axiliary with the flowers arising in opposite pairs etc. up to eight flowers in a group. Bract one to each flower, varying considerably, 2-4.5 mm long, 0.7-1.3 mm broad, lanceolate, acute, ciliolate, gland-dotted, adaxially flat, round backed, sessile, spreading. Bracteoles two, 1.1-2 mm long, 0.5-0.7 mm broad, lanceolate, sub-acute, sessile, glabrous, minutely gland-dotted; margins minutely ciliolate, narrowly translucent. Calyx lobes five, 2.3-2.5 mm long, 1.3 mm broad, lanceolate, acute, glabrous; margins minutely ciliolate, narrowly translucent. Petals five, 2.9 mm long, 1.8 mm broad, oblong-elliptic, obtuse, sessile, glabrous, white, spreading; margins slightly irregular, partly ciliolate. Staminodes none. Filaments five, becoming 1.5 mm long, acicular, glabrous. Anthers five, before anthesis 1 mm long, 0.7 mm broad, yellow; apical gland globose, sessile, Pollen 52 µ long, 27 µ broad, oblong. Disc sinuate, not much crenulate, green, stands wide open, exceeds the ovary, exudes nectar. Stigma 0.25 mm diam., capitellate, green. Style deflexed at first becoming 1.2 mm long, erect, glabrous. Ovary 5-carpellate, 0.9 mm long, 1 mm diam., glabrous, apices globose, Fruit 5-carpellate, 10-12 mm long, 12 mm diam., glabrous, gland-dotted; horns truncate or up to 2 mm long, spreading. Seed 6.5 long, 3 mm broad, black, shining; aril black.