Manulea flanaganii Hilliard

Annual herb, taproot woody, up to 4 mm diam. at crown, stems c. 300-380 mm long, erect or decumbent, well branched from the base and above, glandular-puberulous throughout, hairs up to 0.1 mm long, occasional balloon-tipped hairs also present, laxly leafy. Leaves opposite, bases connate, becoming alternate on the inflorescence axes, main leaves c. 30-55 x 4-6 mm, smaller upwards and passing imperceptibly into bracts, narrowly elliptic, apex ± acute, base narrowed to a short petiolar part, lowermost leaves with ± serrate margins, upper entire, both surfaces glandular-puberulous. Flowers many in long spreading paniculate thyrses, cymules many-flowered, monochasial or dichasial, the lowermost in the axils of the uppermost leaves. Bracts (lowermost) either leaflike or, on small side branches, c. 5-7 x 1 mm, oblong. Peduncles (lowermost) c. 1-5 mm long. Calyx obscurely bilabiate, tube c. 0.2 mm long, lobes subequal, c. 2.5-3.3 x 0.3-0.4 mm, linear-lanceolate, acute, glandular-puberulous all over, hairs up to 0.2 mm long, balloon-tipped hairs very occasional. Corolla tube c. 5-6.5 x 0.8 mm in throat, cylindric, inflated near apex, limb bilabiate, c. 4.5-5.8 mm across lateral lobes, posticous lobes 2-2.5 x 1.1-1.6 mm, anticous lobe 2.2-2.8 x 1 mm, all oblong-elliptic, colour unknown, tube and backs of lobes puberulous with gland-and balloon-tipped hairs up to 0.1 mm long, glabrous within. Stamens 4, anticous anthers 0.5-0.6 mm long, visible in mouth, posticous anthers 1 mm long, included, posticous filaments either glabrous or with a few hairs. Stigma c. 3-3.6 mm long, just included. Style 0.3-0.75 mm long. Ovary c. 1-1.2 x 0.6 mm. Capsule 3-3.5 x 2.25-2.5 mm, glandular-puberulous all over. Seeds immature (or shed), pallid. When Flanagan collected his specimens in December, they had both ripe capsules and flowers.