Hermannia sulcata Harv.

Suffrutex up to 60 cm tall, sprawling, much branched, branches slender, new growth tomentose with fringed scales. Stipules linear-oblanceolate, sessile, acute, velvety tomentose on both sides, 5-10 mm long, about 1 mm broad. Leaves shortly petiolate; blade velvety tomentose on both surfaces, narrowly obovate, 12-17 mm long, 5-8 mm broad near apex, often folded, margins usually entire, occasionally some shallowly crenate in upper portion; petiole about 2.5 mm long. Inflorescence of leafy racemose cymes terminal on branchlets and in axils of upper leaves; peduncle slender, suberect, bracteoles linear-subulate, in threes (reduced leaf and stipules), about 2 mm long; pedicels of ultimate pair of flowers more or less the same length. Calyx narrowly obconic, narrowed at the mouth, 5-lobed in the upper half, often with 5 thick, prominent ribs alternating with 5 less prominent ribs, fairly densely pubescent with small fringed scales and stellate hairs, hairs long on margins of lobes; lobes about 2 mm long, acute, mucronate. Petals strongly twisted, yellow, sometimes partly suffused with dark red, about 8 mm long, oblong-orbicular and emarginate in upper quarter, narrowing slightly into a long waist and in lower quarter into a spur with infolded margins, minutely stellate-pubescent just behind the margin of narrowed central portion. Stamens about 4 mm long with oblong-cuneate hyaline filaments; anthers ciliate, overlapping filaments at base. Ovary about 1 mm long, shallowly 5-lobed and very shortly 5-umbonate at the apex, stellate-pubescent, especially along the lobes, hairs longer at the apex; stipe under 0.5 mm long; styles adhering, rather thick; stigma terminal, capitate.