Erica cymosa E.Mey. ex Benth.

Shrublets soft, sparse, low, erect to spreading, single-stemmed reseeders. Branches: main branches 50-400 mm long, occasional secondary branches 20-100 mm long; stems delicate, thin with dense, short, gland-tipped hairs to subglabrous, no infrafoliar ridges, internodes 3-10 mm long. Leaves 3-nate, spreading, elliptic-ovate, 3.5-10.0 x 1-3 mm, open-backed and flat, delicate, adaxially covered with sparse, short, simple hairs and a row of longer, gland-tipped hairs near margins, abaxially with dense, very short, simple hairs and a few scattered, longer, gland-tipped hairs, midrib thickened towards apex and extended into a stout seta terminated by a small gland and very short-haired, sparsely ciliate with gland-tipped hairs; petiole adpressed to spreading, 0.4-1.0 mm long, glabrous to fine-haired. Inflorescence: flowers 3-nate in 1-8 whorls, raceme-like towards ends of main and secondary branches, continuing vegetative growth on main branches but often terminating secondary branches; pedicel 4-12 mm long, glabrous or with short, gland-tipped hairs; bract not recaulescent, leaf-like; bracteoles 2, from 1/2 way up pedicel to approximate to calyx, seldom opposite, narrowly ovate to narrowly elliptic, 0.9-2.0 x 0.2-0.4 mm, with indumentum and midvein same as in leaf. Calyx 4-partite, ovate to broadly ovate to broadly elliptic, 0.7-2.5 x 0.4-1.1 mm, indumentum and structure like a leaf. Corolla 4-lobed, cyathiform to broadly urceolate, 15-5.5 x 2.2-4.0 mm, covered with sparse, short, simple hairs, white to very pale pink or tinged with red; lobes 1-2 mm long, rounded to subacute, margins entire. Stamens 8, free, included; filaments elongate, very narrowly ovate, 2.0-2.5 x 0.2 mm, with subapical S-bend, glabrous; anthers dorsally attached near base, bilobed, narrowly ovate in adaxial views, appendiculate; thecae erect, adpressed, ovate ± 0.7 x 0.4 mm in lateral view, slightly prognathous at base, smooth, yellow, appendages at base of thecae or partially decurrent along apex of filament, pendulous, narrow, ± 2A as long as thecae, pore 1/3-1/2 length of theca; pollen shed in tetrads. Ovary 4-locular, slightly depressed obovoid, 0.6-1.5 x 0.8-1.9 mm, emarginate, glabrous or covered in upper half with sparse, short, simple hairs, nectaries present around base; ovules 35-50 per locule, spreading from placenta almost full length of columella; style manifest, 1.6-4.0 mm long, glabrous; stigma small, capitellate. Fruit a dehiscent capsule, valves splitting open ± 40° for ± 1/2 their length, smooth, septa only on valves. Seeds ellipsoid, ± 0.4 x 0.2 mm, rounded to angled, orange, shallowly alveolate; testa cells irregularly elongate, ± 50-75 x 15 µm, anticlinal walls thin, irregularly jigsawed, periclinal walls with numerous fairly large pits.