Lachnaea greytonensis Beyers

Sparsely to much-branched, erect shrub up to 0.45 m tall, single-stemmed at base, corymbosely branched near ground; reseeder. Branches ascending to inclined, slender, terete, internodes 1/4-1 1/2 as long as leaves, felted, leafy, later becoming glabrous and naked without prominent leaf scars. Leaves decussate, adpressed, scattered, those below inflorescence crowded, sessile, epistomatic, narrowly elliptic, 2.8-4.5 x 0.8-1.2 mm, coriaceous, glabrous with villous-ciliate margin, later margins glabrous; adaxially obtusely concave or concave, dull, faintly white-punctulate; abaxially convex, smooth or subkeeled, glossy; apex rounded; base rounded; distal 2 leaf pairs subverticillate, broader than other leaves, bract-like, margin villous-ciliate; distal pair obovate, 2.9-3.5 x 1.9-2.3 mm, abaxially subkeeled, apex rounded or obtuse; subdistal pair obovate, 3.4-4.2 x 1.6-2.0 mm, abaxially keeled, apex acute or rounded. Inflorescence a terminal, sessile, 12-30-flowered, capitulum-like, pseudobracteate umbel with 1-5 open flowers at a time, 5-7 mm diam., on main and sometimes also on short lateral flowering branches just below main inflorescence forming a cluster of inflorescences at apex of main flowering branches; umbel appears to be enclosed at base by 2 pairs of involucral bracts but vegetative shoots were observed to develop in axils of distal bract-like leaf pair. Flowers ± actinomorphic, cream, pedicellate. Pedicel 0.5-2.7 mm long, villous, elongating in fruiting stage. Hypanthium 2.5-4.2 mm long, circumscissile 1/2-1/5 from base; upper portion cup-shaped narrowing into a very short tube at base, villous-tomentose outside, inside villous-hirsute below floral scales, glabrous above; basal portion ellipsoid, outside distal 1/3 tomentose, rest glabrous, inside glabrous. Sepals erect-patent, subequal, widely to very widely ovate, 0.8-1.3 x 0.8-1.3 mm, apex rounded or obtuse, adaxially glabrous or distal half villous-tomentose, abaxially villous-tomentose. Stamens: outer, antesepalous whorl exserted, arising at base of sepals or at rim of hypanthium; inner, antepetalous whorl enclosed or semi-exserted, arising a 1/4-1/3 down upper portion of hypanthium; outer filaments 0.3-0.7 mm long, inner 0.2-0.7 mm long; anthers widely ellipsoid or spheroid, 0.3-0.4 mm long, abaxially without broad connective tissue. Floral scales enclosed, arising 1/2-3/4 down upper portion of hypanthium, widely obovoid, 0.2-0.3 mm long, glabrous, white, later turning yellow in fresh state. Ovary narrowly obovoid or obovoid, 0.6-0.8 mm long, glabrous. Sty le terete-obconical, 0.8-2.2 mm long, glabrous. Stigma capitate or subcapitate, papillate.