Elytraria acaulis (L.F.) Lindau

Acaulescent perennial herb with a short, creeping sometimes branched rootstock; apical part of rootstock where leaves attached with long strigose hairs to 3 mm. Leaves in basal rosette, below crisped puberulous to pilose or sparsely so along midrib (sparser along lateral veins), glabrous on lamina, with similar indumentum and ± scattered hairs on lamina above; subsessile, rarely with petiole to 2.5 cm, lamina elliptic to obovate, largest 5-22 x 2-9 cm; apex acute to broadly rounded; base attenuate, decurrent; margin subentire to crenate-dentate in apical part, entire to deeply sinuate, incised or weakly lyrate in basal part. Spikes 2-9.5 cm long, branched or unbranched; peduncle (2)5-22 cm long; sterile bracts imbricate, 4.5-7.5 mm long, ovate, acuminate, glabrous except for ciliate margin; fertile bracts 6.5-8 mm long, pale green with white scarious margin, broadly ovate, acuminate to cuspidate, with similar indumentum; bracteoles 4-5 mm long, narrowly elliptic, acuminate, crisped puberulous in a central band and ciliate towards apex. Sepals ciliate near apex, otherwise glabrous; dorsal 4.5-6 mm long, elliptic, subacute to acute; lateral 4-5.5 mm long, narrowly elliptic, acute, sometimes with a small dorsifixed mucro; ventral 4-5.5 mm long, lanceolate, acute. Corolla white or cream, tube c.9 mm when fully developed, widened into a short throat, lobes 2-3 mm long, sometimes bifid; cleistogamous flowers with tube 5-7 mm long, lobes toothed, folded over and down around tube thus closing flower. Stamens 2, attached in widened throat; filaments c.1 mm long; anthers c.1 mm long, with sagittate base, slightly smaller in cleistogamous flowers. Stigma oblong-spathulate and erect in open flowers, rounded or reniform and bent in cleistogamous flowers. Capsule 5.5-6.5 mm long, glabrous. Seed c.1 mm long.