Hermannia muricata Eckl. & Zeyh.

Suffrutex, much branched from base; branches rather slender, outer arcuate-ascending usually with long (over 0.5 mm), tubercle-based bristles, one or more from each tubercle, occasionally short, gland-tipped hairs present as well, sometimes (in more northerly and south-eastern plants) the tubercle-based bristles are displaced by a stellate-pubescence and minute fringed or stellate scales. Stipules narrowly to broadly ovate, rounded or cordate at base, often broad, oblique, amplexicaul or decurrent at base, acuminate to abruptly acuminate at apex. Leaves petiolate; blade narrowly oblong, 8-36 mm long, 2-10 mm broad, rounded at base, sometimes slightly narrowing towards rounded base and broadest near apex, margins sinuate-crenate to sinuate-dentate, slightly recurved, upper surface sparsely hairy with long tubercle-based hairs or sometimes subdensely stellate-pubescent with hairs short, nerves impressed, lower surface whitish tomentose, but thinly so on the prominent nerves; petiole 2-10 mm long, rarely up to 15 mm long. Inflorescence of long, interrupted, paniculate cymes, terminal on branchlets; peduncles and pedicels slender, 10-30 mm long, pubescent as on branchlets; bracts opposite, broadly ovate, cordate, abruptly acuminate, 3-5 mm long, 1.5-3 mm broad at base; bracteoles up to 3 at base of pedicels, narrowly ovate, lanceolate with acuminate apex or subulate, 1.5-3.5 mm long, 0.75-1.5 mm broad. Calyx flask-shaped, narrow at base, pubescence as on inflorescence and branchlets, glabrescent, about 5 mm long, lobed to above middle, lobes sparsely ciliate or densely and softly so in the eastern form, sinuses fairly wide. Petals “bright orange-yellow or orange-red”, about 7 mm long, suborbicular in upper half, narrowed below into a claw with infolded margins, glabrous in specimens dissected. Stamens about 6 mm long, cohering at base around stipe; filaments hyaline, oblong-cuneate, minutely and sparsely pubescent on shoulders; anthers ciliate, overlapping the filaments at base. Ovary shallowly 5-lobed, stellate-pubescent on the sinuses, about 2 mm long, stipe 1 mm long; styles cohering, 4 mm long. Capsule shallowly 5-lobed, stellate-pubescent along sutures, minutely so between sutures, glabrescent, faded calyx persisting at base and obscuring stipe.