Lachnaea naviculifolia Compton

Erect, sparsely to moderately branched shrub up to 1.5 m tall, multistemmed at base; resprouter. Branches ascending, slender, terete, internodes 1/4-2/3 as long as leaves, puberulent to sericeous below inflorescence [±6 pairs of distal leaves], below glabrous or occasionally covered with short adpressed hairs, leafy, becoming naked with prominent leaf scars. Leaves decussate, ascending, erect or with apex turned inward, scattered, those below inflorescence crowded, sessile, epistomatic, glaucous, navicular, narrowly elliptic to elliptic, occasionally narrowly ovate to ovate. 7.5-16.0 x 1.5-5.5 mm, coriaceous or subfleshy, glabrous; adaxially obtusely concave, enervate, white-punctulate, dull; abaxially obtusely convex, enervate, glossy or dull; margin inflexed; apex rounded; base rounded; distal 3 pairs below inflorescence becoming gradually larger upward and bract-like, winged, elliptic to very widely elliptic or obovate to very widely obovate, 6.0-21.5 x 4-13 mm, coriaceous, glaucous or green tinged red, greeny yellow tinged red or reddish; adaxially concave; abaxially convex, subkeeled towards the apex, glabrous or adpressed hairy at apex; margin membranous, ciliolate, more so in upper half; apex cuspidate or mucronate; base rounded or cuneate. Inflorescence a terminal, sessile, more than 20-flowered, pseudobracteate, capitulum-like umbel with 8-15 open flowers at a time, 18-35 mm diam., usually only on main flowering branches; ebracteate umbel appears to be enclosed at base by 2 or 3 pairs of involucral bracts but vegetative shoots develop in axils of these bract-like leaves, although generally branching occurs below subdistal pair of bract-like leaves. Flowers subactinomorphic, white or white tinged pink or mauve, or cream, pale pink, pale blue, pale yellow or yellowish green, scented. Pedicel dorsoventrally flattened, abaxially produced beyond point of attachment of flower, rectangular, 2.0-4.5 mm long, elongating in fruiting stage, adaxially villous, abaxially sericeous. Hypanthium 7-13 mm long, circumscissile 1/5-2/5 from base; upper portion narrowly funnel-shaped, sericeous on both sides; basal portion ellipsoid or obovoid, outside puberulent in upper 1/3, rest glabrous, inside glabrous. Sepals patent, ± equal or occasionally subequal, adaxially glabrous or occasionally sparsely sericeous along midvein, abaxially sericeous, elliptic, rounded to obtuse, anterior one 4-8 x 2.2-4.0 mm, lateral ones 3.4-6.2 x 2-4 mm, posterior one 3.6-6.5 x 1.6-3.8. Stamens exserted; outer, antesepalous whorl arising at base of sepals; inner, antepetalous whorl arising at rim of hypanthium, shorter than outer whorl; outer filaments 3.0-5.5 mm long, inner 1.4-3.5 mm long; anthers oblong or ellipsoid to widely ellipsoid, 0.6-1.3 mm long, abaxially with broad connective tissue. Floral scales exserted, arising at mouth of hypanthium immediately below antepetalous stamens, linear, 0.8-2.0 mm long, glabrous, translucent white in fresh state. Ovary ellipsoid or obovoid, 1.6-2.4 mm long, glabrous. Style terete-obconical, 8.0-14.5 mm long, sericeous in upper half. Stigma brush-like.