Lyperia violacea Benth.

Annual herb blackening on drying, main stem c. 50-450 mm tall, simple at first, later loosely branched from the base and above, lower branches decumbent or ascending, sparsely glandular-puberulous to almost glabrous, hairs c. 0.1-0.2 mm long, scattered glistening glands as well, distantly leafy. Leaves opposite, c. 10-60 x 5-20 mm, elliptic tapering to a petiolar part accounting for c. 1/3 total length of lower leaves, becoming nearly sessile upwards, apex ± obtuse, margins coarsely toothed, lower surface in particular sparsely hairy as the stems. Flowers few to many in lax terminal racemes. Bracts alternate, leaf-like, lowermost c. 6-22 x 2-11 mm Pedicels (lowermost) c. 3-10 mm long. Calyx tube c. 0.1-0.25 mm long, lobes c. 3-5 x 0.7-1 mm, thinly glandular-puberulous, hairs up to 0.15-0.25 mm long, glistening glands as well. Corolla tube 9-15 x 1-1.2 mm, cylindric, expanded in throat to c. 1.8-2.25 mm, limb nearly regular, c. 6-14 mm across, lobes 2.34 x 1.4-3.5 mm, oblong-elliptic to subspathulate, tube and backs of lobes glandular-pubescent, hairs 0.15-0.25 mm long, glistening glands as well particularly on upper parts, upper surface of lobes glabrous except for a broad band of minute glandular hairs around mouth, band of upward-pointing clavate hairs in throat, limb pink, mauve or blue marked with 3 dark streaks at base of each lobe. Stamens 2, filaments 1 mm long, anthers 1-1.4 mm long, just visible in throat or included, staminodes 2, 0.2-0.4 mm long. Stigma 0.7-1 mm long, shortly exserted or included. Style c. 5-13 mm long, glandular-puberulous. Ovary 2.2-2.5 x 1.3-1.7 mm, densely clad in glistening glands, minute glandular hairs (c. 0.1 mm long) particularly on upper part. Capsules 7-12 x 4-6 mm, hairy as ovaries, the glandular hairs very inconspicuous. Seeds 0.8-1.3 x 0.7-1 mm.