Diplycosia kinabaluensis Stapf

Low shrub, 10-30 cm high, recumbent or creeping. Branches thick, terete, the greyish cork fissured lengthwise, scars of fallen leaves large (3-5 mm ø). Branchlets brownish, sparsely setose or glabrous, but the young shoots always with scattered, ± spreading, 2-4 mm long, bristles. Leaves obovate, sometimes elliptic or obovate-oblong, aggregated towards the ends of the branchlets, apex broad-attenuate to rounded, the terminal gland thick and protruding, base cuneate into the petiole, rigidly coriaceous, glabrous above, laxly to subdensely patently and caducously setose or finally blackish punctate beneath, mostly crenulate in the upper half, the teeth ending in semipersistent, rather long bristle-like hairs, or completely entire, normal ones (6-)7-12 by (3-)4-6 cm, sometimes with other minor ones on the same specimen, margin slightly recurved, midrib mostly strongly impressed above, very prominent beneath, 5(-7)-plinerved, these main nerves curved-ascending and anastomosing, impressed above, prominent beneath, other higher nerves (2-5) from the midrib, less distinct, slightly impressed above, ± obscure beneath, veins +-transverse, veinlets coarsely reticulate, both somewhat impressed above, but +-inconspicuous beneath; petiole glabrous, deep red-purple as is the lower third of the midrib, 4-8 by 2-3 mm, ± flattened, ± winged in the upper part by the decurrent leaf blade. Flowers generally 3-4 per axil, sometimes only 2 or solitary in the one or other axil of the same specimen, both from the upper foliate axils or defoliate ones near to the ground. Pedicels stoutish, glabrous, 6-8(-10) mm, basal bracts rather large. Bracteoles rounded-ovate, obtuse, glabrous, ciliolate, 2-3 mm. Calyx greenish, c. 4 mm, glabrous, 5-lobed to nearly its base, lobes subacute. Corolla campanulate, pinkish to greenish, or greenish shaded with red, rarely ivory white, with strong scent, 9-11 mm long, base c. 5 mm ø, glabrous, lobes subacute, erect, 3-4 mm. Filaments linear, glabrous, papillose in their upper part, c. 5.5 mm; anthers oblong, echinulate, the base inflexed, 5 mm including the rather short tubules. Ovary glabrous; style 8 mm. Fruit light blue to blackish, c. 6 mm ø, the capsule entirely included by the somewhat fleshy calyx lobes.

Abundant wherever the vegetation opens out, both on the olivine-serpentine ridge, the dwarf sub-summit forest and in the cracks of the granite core to the summit, where it forms one of the chief components of the vegetation, on wet places, chiefly between 2440-3960 m, occasionally with creeks down to 1830 m. Fl. Dec.-July.