Lachnaea pendula Beyers

Sparsely to moderately branched, erect to decumbent shrub up to 0.45 m tall, single-stemmed at base, branching near ground; reseeder. Branches ascending to patent, slender, terete, internodes 2/3 to as long as leaves, felted or covered with adpressed long silky hairs admixed with crisped hairs, leafy, later glabrescent and naked without prominent leaf scars. Leaves decussate, adpressed, scattered, sessile, narrowly elliptic to elliptic or narrowly ovate to ovate, 1.8-2.4 x 0.6-0.8 mm, coriaceous, glabrous; adaxially concave, enervate, dull; abaxially convex, enervate or subkeeled, glossy; apex rounded, villous-tufted; base rounded. Inflorescence a terminal, sessile, pendulous, bracteate, up to ±35-flowered umbel with 5-8 open flowers at a time, 3-5 mm diam., on main flowering branches. Involucral bracts 4, elliptic or obovate to widely obovate, 2.0-2.5 x 1.2-2.2 mm (distal pair always wider), coriaceous, green, glabrous; adaxially concave; abaxially convex, keeled in upper half; margin tinged brown in upper half, white-ciliate; apex rounded or obtuse. Flowers subactinomorphic, cream or pale yellow, pedicellate. Pedicel 0.5-1.5 mm long, villous, elongating in fruiting stage. Hypanthium 1.5-2.2 mm long, circumscissile 2/3-4/5 from base; upper portion shortly funnel-shaped, sericeous outside, adpressed hirsute inside; basal portion ellipsoid or obovoid, outside pubescent in upper 1/3-1/2, glabrous below, inside glabrous. Sepals patent, subequal, ovate or elliptic, 0.9-1.7 x 0.6-0.9 mm, apex subacute or rounded, adaxially glabrous, abaxially sericeous, pale gold-coloured. Stamens exserted; outer, antesepalous whorl arising at base of sepals; inner, antepetalous whorl arising at rim of hypanthium; outer filaments 0.6-0.9 mm long, inner 0.3-0.8 mm long; anthers widely ellipsoid or depressed spheroid, 0.2-0.3 mm long, abaxially without broad connective tissue. Floral scales exserted, arising in mouth of hypanthium near rim just below antepetalous stamens, narrowly obovoid or obovoid, 0.3-0.6 mm long, glabrous. Ovary ellipsoid or obovoid, 0.6-0.9 mm long, glabrous. Style terete-obconical, 1.1-1.3 mm long, sericeous in upper half, glabrous below. Stigma capitate, elongate-papillate.