Densely branched intricate heath-like shrublet or more often a perennial prostrate mat-forming or ascending subshrubby much-branched herb 7–45 cm. tall; stems densely covered with ascending ± adpressed white hairs when young, later often with white peeling epidermis revealing brown bark beneath (as in H. rariflorum).. Leaves silvery or grey-green; blades narrowly oblong-elliptic to distinctly elliptic, 0.5–1.5 cm. long, 1.5–5 mm. wide, acute at the apex, cuneate at the base, strigose with adpressed white hairs on both surfaces; petiole 0.5–2 mm. long.. Flowers sessile, basically axillary but leaves often reduced so that inflorescences appear to be spike-like, ± 5 cm. long, with some flowers supported by leaf-like bracts and others not.. Calyx-lobes linear to lanceolate, 1.2–2 mm. long, 0.2–0.5 mm. wide, densely spreading or adpressed pilose outside.. Corolla white, scarcely exceeding the calyx; tube 1–2 mm. long, adpressed hairy outside above, glabrous beneath, hairy inside at base of lobes; limb 2–3 mm. wide, the lobes broadly ovate, rounded or scarcely defined, 0.8–1 mm. long and wide.. Stigma globose or with a very short ± imperceptible projection or small tuft of hairs, the style very short or ± obsolete, the two together 0.3–0.5 mm. long and often completely immersed in the central cavity between the 4 nutlets.. Fruit depressed globose, ± 3 mm. wide, easily separating into 4 globose or ovoid-segment-shaped nutlets 1.2–1.5 mm. long, 1–1.2 mm. wide, typically with sparse to dense long spreading white hairs often ± dark at tips or hairs sometimes 1/2-adpressed.. Fig. 19/3, p. 71.
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