Annual or perennial herb or subshrub 5–60 cm. tall from a thin to thick tap-root or clump-forming subshrub to 60 cm. wide from a very woody base; stems little-much-branched, densely covered with absolutely adpressed white hairs.. Leaves aromatic, with goat-like smell when dry; blades linear-lanceolate, linear-oblong or elliptic-oblong or distinctly ovate to broadly elliptic, 1–8 cm. long, 0.1–3.5 cm. wide, subobtuse to acute at the apex, ± rounded to cuneate at the base, adpressed white setulose pubescent on both surfaces but mainly on nerves beneath and densely dotted with non-hair-bearing cystoliths, the margins often distinctly undulate; nerves impressed above; petiole ± 0–2 cm. long.. Cymes distinctly scorpioid, mostly short at first, 1.5–2.5 cm. long, lengthening to 10–15 cm. in fruit; peduncle ± 3–4 cm. long; flowers sessile.. Calyx-lobes linear to lanceolate or oblong, 1–1.5 mm. long, 0.2 mm. wide.. Corolla pure white or cream or sometimes with yellowish centre; tube cylindrical but usually distinctly swollen in middle and fusiform in dry state, 3.5–6 mm. long, usually densely adpressed pubescent, but sometimes ± glabrous; limb 4–7 mm. wide, the lobes short and blunt to long and narrowly triangular, 0.5–3 mm. long, 1–2.5 mm. wide.. Style and stigma together 1.5–3 mm. long, almost equal in length or style longer; stigmatic club narrowly conical, widened at the base, shortly 2–4-fid at the apex.. Fruit 2–3 mm. long, 3 mm. wide, divided into 2–4 nutlets; nutlets segment-shaped, the margins variable, sometimes slightly to very distinctly winged, the wings often crenate, or merely rugose or nodulose or even serrate, outer curved face between the wings rugose to reticulate-echinate, the flat face with winged nodular or rugose ridge just below the marginal wing and area beyond smooth.
Home