Lachnaea penicillata Meisn.

Compact, round, much-branched shrub up to 0.4 m tall, single-stemmed at base, corymbosely branched near ground, or multi-stemmed at base; reseeder or resprouter. Branches ascending or inclined, slender, lax, terete, internodes 2/3-3/4 as long as leaves, felted, leafy, later glabrescent and naked without prominent leaf scars. Leaves decussate, adpressed, scattered, sessile, epistomatic, lanceolate or narrowly elliptic, 2.0-3.7 x 0.6-1.0 mm, coriaceous; adaxially concave, enervate, dull; abaxially convex, subkeeled or keeled, glossy, glabrous; margin lanate-ciliate, later glabrescent; apex obtuse, tufted; base rounded. Inflorescence a terminal, sessile, 3-12-flowered, bracteate umbel with a single open flower at a time, 3-4 mm diam., on main flowering branches. Involucral bracts 4, coriaceous, green; distal pair narrowly obovate or obovate, 3-4 x 1-2 mm; adaxially concave; abaxially convex, enervate or keeled, glabrous; margin scarious, brown, ciliate in upper half, lanate-ciliate in lower half; apex emarginate; subdistal pair narrowly elliptic or elliptic, 3-4 x 1.0-1.3 mm; adaxially concave; abaxially convex, keeled, glabrous; margin scarious, brown, lanate-ciliate or ciliate in upper half and lanate-ciliate in lower half; apex rounded. Flowers subactinomorphic, cream, pedicellate. Pedicel 0.5-2.0 mm long, covered with long silky, ascending hairs, elongating in fruiting stage. Hypanthium 2.2-3.0 mm long, circumscissile ±1/2 way from base; upper portion funnel-shaped, sericeous outside, adpressed hirsute inside; basal portion narrowly ellipsoid to elliptic or narrowly oblong to oblong, puberulent outside, glabrous inside. Sepals inclined, subequal, ovate, elliptic or obovate, 1.4-2.3 x 0.8-1.6 mm, apex rounded or obtuse, adaxially sparsely adpressed hairy, abaxially sericeous. Stamens exserted; outer, antesepalous whorl arising near base of sepals; inner, antepetalous whorl arising at rim of hypanthium; outer filaments 0.5-0.8 mm long, inner 0.4-0.7 mm long; anthers widely ellipsoid or spheroid, 0.3-0.4 mm long, abaxially without broad connective tissue. Floral scales exserted, arising immediately below antepetalous stamens in mouth of hypanthium, narrowly ellipsoid or narrowly obovoid, 0.5-0.7 mm long, glabrous, translucent white in fresh state. Ovary narrowly ellipsoid or ellipsoid, 0.6-1.0 mm long, glabrous. Style terete-obconical, 2.1-2.9 mm long, upper half covered with silky, ascending hairs, lower half glabrous. Stigma capitate, elongate-papillate.