Lachnaea elsieae Beyers

Compact, rounded or diffuse spreading, much-branched shrub up to 0.6 m tall, single-stemmed at base branching near ground, or multistemmed at base; reseeder or resprouter. Branches ascending to patent, slender, terete, internodes 0.5 to as long as leaves, felted, tomentose or villous-tomentose, leafy, later glabrescent and naked without prominent leaf scars. Leaves decussate, adpressed or subadpressed, scattered, those below inflorescence crowded, sessile, epistomatic, narrowly ovate to ovate or narrowly elliptic to elliptic, 1.0-4.5 x 0.4-1.1 mm, coriaceous; adaxially concave, enervate, dull; abaxially convex, subkeeled or keeled, glossy, glabrous, margin of distal leaves below inflorescence sparsely villous-ciliate; apex rounded, villous-tufted; base rounded; distal 2 leaf pairs subverticillate, bract-like, partially enclosing inflorescence, coriaceous, green or occasionally tinged maroon, glabrous; adaxially concave; abaxially convex, subkeeled or keeled in upper half; distal pair elliptic or obovate to widely obovate, 1.6-3.3 x 0.9-2.0 mm; margin membranous or brown scarious, ciliate; apex subacute to obtuse or emarginate; subdistal pair narrowly elliptic to elliptic, ovate or obovate, 1.8-4.0 x 0.9-1.5, margin membranous or brown scarious, villous-ciliate; apex acute to rounded. Inflorescence a terminal, sessile, 3-13-flowered, pseudobracteate umbel with 1-4 open flowers at a time, up to 2 mm diam., on main flowering branches or also on short lateral flowering branches just below main inflorescence or for some distance down main flowering branch, thus either forming a cluster of inflorescences at apex of main flowering branches or appearing racemose-like on main flowering branches. Flowers subactinomorphic, cream, pale pink or cream turning pink or pale, dull red with age, pedicellate. Pedicel 0.3-1.4 mm long, covered with long silky, ascending hairs becoming villous with age, elongating in fruiting stage. Hypanthium 1.2-2.3 mm long, circumscissile ±0.5 way; upper portion shortly funnel-shaped, sericeous outside, adpressed hirsute inside; basal portion ellipsoid or oblong, outside puberulent in upper 0.5 to upper 0.3, glabrous below, inside glabrous. Sepals erect-patent to patent, subequal, ovate to widely ovate or elliptic to widely ovate, 1.0-1.9 x 0.5-1.4 mm, apex subacute or rounded, adaxially glabrous or sparsely adpressed hairy in upper half, abaxially sericeous. Stamens exserted; outer, antesepalous whorl arising at base of sepals; inner, antepetalous whorl arising at rim of hypanthium; outer filaments 0.4-1.0 mm long, inner 0.3-0.8 mm long; anthers ellipsoid to spheroid, 0.2-0.4 mm long, abaxially without broad connective tissue. Floral scales exserted, arising in mouth of hypanthium immediately below antepetalous stamens, obovoid, 0.2-0.6 mm long, glabrous, translucent white or pale yellow in fresh state. Ovary narrowly ellipsoid to obovoid, 0.6-1.1 mm long, glabrous. Style terete-obconical, 1.1-2.2 mm long, glabrous. Stigma capitate, elongate-papillate.