Lachnaea pedicellata Beyers

Erect, moderately branched shrub up to 0.6 m tall, single-stemmed at base, branching close to ground; reseeder. Branches ascending to inclined, slender, lax, terete, internodes 1/4-3/4 as long as leaves, at first covered with short, crisped or straight hairs, later glabrescent, leafy, becoming naked without prominent leaf scars. Leaves decussate, adpressed to ascending, scattered, with those below inflorescence crowded, sessile, epistomatic, linear to narrowly elliptic, 4.5-12.0 x 0.8-1.5 mm, those below inflorescence gradually broader, ovate, up to 2.5 mm wide, coriaceous, glabrous; adaxially ± flat to concave, enervate, white-punctulate, dull; abaxially convex, enervate, glossy; apex mucronate; base rounded; distal leaf pair subtending inflorescence bract-like, obovate to widely obovate, 5.5-7.2 x 3.2-5.0 mm, coriaceous, glabrous, green; adaxially concave, glabrous; abaxially convex, keeled; margin membranous, more so in upper half, yellow usually tinged maroon; apex apiculate to cuspidate; base cuneate. Inflorescence a terminal, sessile, bracteate, ±20-flowered, capitulum-like umbel with up to 8 open flowers at a time, up to 15 mm diam., on main flowering branches and also on a few short, lateral branches immediately below main inflorescence, forming a compact glomerule; bracteate umbel appears to be enclosed at base by 2 pairs of involucral bracts, but only 1 pair immediately below flowers may be regarded as being true bracts, as vegetative shoots develop in axils of subdistal pair. Involucral bracts 2, elliptic, or obovate to widely obovate occasionally emarginate, 6.0-7.5 x 3-7 mm, coriaceous, glabrous, green; adaxially concave; abaxially convex, keeled; margin membranous, more so in upper half, yellow usually tinged maroon; apex mucronulate or shortly cuspidate; base cuneate. Flowers ± actinomorphic, cream, pedicellate. Pedicel dorso-ventrally flattened, abaxially produced beyond point of attachment of flower, narrowly obovate to obovate in outline, 0.9-3.0 mm long, elongating in fruiting stage, adaxially sericeous, abaxially villous, apex usually emarginate. Hypanthium 3.0-4.4 mm long, circumscissile 1/3-1/2 from base; upper portion narrowly funnel-shaped, sericeous on both sides; basal portion ellipsoid, outside puberulent in upper quarter, rest glabrous, inside glabrous. Sepals patent, ± equal, adaxially glabrous, abaxially sericeous, elliptic to widely elliptic or widely ovate to very widely ovate, 2.1-3.8 x 1.6-2.6 mm, rounded to obtuse. Stamens exserted; outer, antesepalous whorl arising at base of sepals; inner, antepetalous whorl arising at rim of hypanthium, shorter than outer whorl; outer filaments 1.2-3.1 mm long, inner 0.7-2.5 mm long; anthers ellipsoid to widely ellipsoid, 0.4-0.8 mm long, abaxially without broad connective tissue. Floral scales exserted, arising at mouth of hypanthium immediately below antepetalous stamens, narrowly oblong or narrowly ellipsoid, 0.7-1.1 mm long, ± half to as long as antepetalous filaments, glabrous, pale yellow in fresh state. Ovary ellipsoid or obovoid 0.9-1.3 mm long, glabrous. Style linear or linear obconical, 3.0-4.3 mm long, sericeous in upper 1/3-1/2, rest glabrous. Stigma brush-like.