Lachnaea oliverorum Beyers

Sparsely to much-branched, erect shrub up to 0.5 m tall, single-stemmed at base; reseeder. Branches ascending to inclined, slender, terete, internodes a 1/3 to twice as long as leaves, felted, leafy, later glabrescent and naked without prominent leaf scars. Leaves decussate, adpressed or ascending, scattered, sessile, narrowly elliptic or lanceolate, 3-5 x 0.8-1.5 mm, those below inflorescence crowded, ovate or elliptic, 3.2-5.4 x 1.8-2.2, coriaceous, glabrous with lanate-ciliate margin, later margins glabrous; adaxially obtusely concave or concave, dull, faintly white-punctulate; abaxially convex, smooth or subkeeled, glossy; apex rounded; base rounded. Inflorescence a terminal, sessile, 18-22-flowered, capitulum-like, bracteate umbel with 2-6 open flowers at a time, 8-15 mm diam., on main and also on short lateral flowering branches just below main inflorescence, forming a cluster of inflorescences at apex of main flowering branches. Involucral bracts 4, coriaceous, green or green with a maroon tinge, glabrous, margin lanate-ciliate; distal pair ovate or obovate, 5.3-7.0 x 3.3-3.9 mm, adaxially concave, abaxially convex, subkeeled in upper half, apex rounded; subdistal pair elliptic or obovate, 4.7-6.3 x 2.3-3.7 mm, adaxially concave, abaxially convex, subkeeled in upper half, apex acute or rounded. Flowers ± actinomorphic, cream, pedicellate. Pedicel 0.7-4.6 mm long, at first covered with long, ascending. Silky hairs later becoming villous, elongating in fruiting stage. Hypanthium 5.0-6.2 mm long, circumscissile a 1/4-1/3 from base; upper portion cup-shaped narrowing into tube at base, villous outside, cup-shaped portion glabrous inside, tubular portion adpressed hairy; basal portion of hypanthium narrowly ellipsoid or narrowly obovoid, outside distal 2/3 puberulent, rest glabrous, inside glabrous. Sepals erect-patent, subequal, ovate to widely ovate, 2.1-3.3 x 1.4-2.2 mm, apex rounded, adaxially glabrous in lower half, pilose in upper half, abaxially villous-tomentose. Stamens exserted; outer, antesepalous whorl arising near base of sepals or on rim of hypanthium; inner, antepetalous whorl arising 1/2-2/3 down cup-shaped portion of upper portion of hypanthium; outer filaments 0.9-1.6 mm long, inner 0.8-1.7 mm long; anthers ellipsoid, 0.5-0.6 mm long, abaxially without broad connective tissue. Floral scales included, arising 2/3-3/4 down cup-shaped portion of upper portion of hypanthium, widely obovoid or capitate, 0.4-0.6 mm long, glabrous, translucent white in fresh state. Ovary’ narrowly ellipsoid or ellipsoid, 0.9-1.4 mm long, glabrous. Style terete-obconical, 3.8-4.3 mm long, glabrous. Stigma subcapitate, elongate-papillate.