Manulea cinerea Hilliard

Dwarf shrub up to c. 600 mm tall, whole plant ashy-grey, bark pale, main stems c. 10 mm diam., well branched, branches erect, young parts densely puberulous with very small shining balloon-tipped hairs, occasional gland-tipped hairs to 0.2 mm long also present, closely leafy, dwarf axillary shoots prominent. Leaves opposite, bases connate, c. 12-35 x 4-8 mm, elliptic, apex subacute, base tapered to a short petiolar part, margins entire, both surfaces densely puberulous, hairs as on stem. Flowers many in long narrow lax terminal thyrses, cymules dichasial, up to c. 11-flowered. Bracts (lowermost) leaflike, c. 5-13 x 1-3 mm, rapidly smaller upwards. Peduncles (lowermost) c. 2-4 mm long, flowers sessile or nearly so. Calyx very obscurely bilabiate, tube 0.2-0.3 mm long, lobes c. 1.3-2.5 x 0.3-0.6 mm, spathulate, puberulous all over, hairs very short, balloon-tipped, shining. Corolla tube c. 6-7 x 0.8-1.2 mm in mouth, cylindric, inflated at apex, limb distinctly bilabiate, c. 6-11 mm across lateral lobes, posticous lobes c. 2.2-5 x 0.8-1.5 mm, anticous lobe c. 2-4.5 x 0.6-1 mm, all lobes elliptic-oblong, margins strongly revolute, tips acute to the eye, ochre yellow turning red-brown or purple-brown, densely puberulous outside with shining balloon-tipped hairs, inside with 4 very weak longitudinal bands of clavate hairs in throat. Stamens 4, anticous anthers 0.3-0.5 mm long, just included, posticous anthers c. 0.5-0.6 mm long, included, posticous filaments weakly bearded. Stigma c. 0.8-1 mm long, either shorter than or about equalling style, included. Style c. 0.8-1.5 mm long. Ovary 0.8-1.5 x 0.5-0.8 mm. Capsules c. 2.5-3.5 x 2 mm, glandular-puberulous. Seeds c. 0.6-0.8 x 0.4 mm, pallid to violet blue. All four specimens were collected in October when both flowers and old capsules were present.