Manulea cheiranthus L.

Annual herb, stems 1 to many tufted from the base, 35-300(-600) mm long, main stem erect, lateral ones often decumbent or ascending, simple to well branched, lowermost part glandular-pubescent, hairs up to 0.3-0.4 mm long, sometimes mixed with balloon-tipped hairs up to 0.2 mm long, apical cell c. 0.1 mm in diam., these hairs rapidly becoming dominant upwards, any glandular hairs minute and very inconspicuous, leafy particularly at the base but leaves often straggling upwards, distant, passing into inflorescence bracts. Leaves (lower) opposite, bases connate, either opposite or alternate upwards, blade (of principal leaves) (5-)15-60 x (3-)6-35 mm, ovate to elliptic tapering to a flat petiolar part (3-)10-15 mm long (about equalling to 1/2-1/4 as long as blade), apex subacute to obtuse, margins coarsely toothed to almost lobed, very rarely less markedly toothed in flowering seedlings, both gland-and balloon-tipped hairs up to 0.2-0.3 mm long. Flowers many in terminal racemes or thyrses, ± panicled in well branched plants, stems often floriferous almost to the base, flowers either solitary in the axil of each bract (commonplace in seedlings and at the base of a thyrse) or in 2-9-flowered lax or congested monochasial or dichasial cymules (the latter sometimes compounded). Bracts (lowermost) often leaflike though usually much reduced in size, or oblong-lanceolate and then c. 1.5-8 x 0.4-2 mm, the smallest bracts on seedlings. Pedicels or peduncles (lowermost) c. 1-20 mm long. Calyx obscurely bilabiate, tube 0.3-1 mm long, lobes 1.8-5 x 0.3-0.8 mm, oblong-lanceolate, ± acute, puberulous all over with both gland-and balloon-tipped hairs up to 0.2 mm long, apical cell of latter up to 0.1 mm in diam. Corolla tube 2.75-5 x 0.7-1 mm in throat, cylindric, expanded near apex, limb bilabiate, 5-16 mm across lateral lobes, which ascend, leaving the anticous lobe somewhat isolated, posticous lobes 2.75-10 x 0.5-1.2 mm, anticous lobe 2-7.3 x 0.5-1.2 mm, all lobes long-lanceolate, margins usually revolute and lobes subulate to eye, sometimes merely acute, varying in colour from ochre-yellow to orange or shades of red-brown, back of tube yellow/orange with a dark violet patch between the posticous filaments (possibly not always present), tube and backs of lobes puberulous outside with balloon-tipped hairs up to 0.1 mm long, inside with 3 longitudinal bands of clavate hairs on posticous side, sometimes a band on anticous side as well. Stamens 4, anticous anthers 0.25-0.3 mm long, just visible in mouth, posticous anthers 0.5-0.8 mm long, included, posticous filaments bearded. Stigma 0.75-1.5 mm long, included. Style 0.2-0.6 mm long, shorter than stigma. Ovary 0.8-1.2 x 0.5-0.8 mm. Capsules c. 3.5-5 x 2-2.5 mm. Seeds c. 0.5-0.6 x 0.4 mm, white or blue-violet.