Manulea praeterita Hilliard

Annual herb, stems 1-c. 12 tufted from the base, c. 30-300 mm tall, erect, simple below the inflorescence, inflorescence sometimes weakly paniculate, hairs on lower part of stem up to 0.1 mm long, mostly gland-tipped, a few balloon-tipped, short-stalked balloon-tipped hairs often plentiful on inflorescence axes, sometimes few or wanting, leafless. Leaves opposite, bases connate, crowded at base, c. 4.5-21 x 3.5-15 mm, elliptic to ovate tapering to a flat petiolar part roughly 1/2-2/3 length of blade, apex obtuse to subacute, margins subentire to serrate, both surfaces glandular-puberulous, hairs up to 0.25 mm long, occasional balloon-tipped hairs also present. Flowers many in long terminal racemes or narrow thyrses, either solitary or in 2-7-flowered cymules, solitary flowers and cymules often occurring together in one inflorescence. Bracts (lowermost) 1.5-4 x 0.4-0.6 mm, linear-lanceolate. Pedicels or peduncles (lowermost) c. 3-18 mm long, shorter upwards but all flowers with noticeable pedicels. Calyx very obscurely bilabiate, tube 0.2-0.5 mm long, lobes 1.4-2.5 x 0.4-0.5 mm, lanceolate-oblong, margins glandular-puberulous, hairs up to 0.1 mm long, glistening ± sessile glands as well, a few balloon-tipped hairs sometimes on backs. Corolla tube 3-4 x 0.7-0.8 mm in throat, cylindric, inflated near apex, limb almost regular, 4.5-6 mm across lateral lobes, lobes c. 1.8-2.2 x 1.6-2.3 mm, elliptic to deltoid in outline, apex bilobed, sometimes each lobe lobed again, or occasionally 1 or 2 lobes out of the five entire, white or mauve with a yellow star-shaped patch around mouth and extending down back of tube, occasionally sparsely minutely glandular-puberulous outside, glistening glands on backs of lobes, inside a posticous longitudinal band of clavate hairs and a transverse band in throat. Stamens 4, anticous anthers 0.2-0.3 mm long, posticous anthers 0.5-0.7 mm long, all included, posticous filaments bearded. Stigma 0.6-1 mm long, deeply included. Style 0.3-0.5 mm long, much shorter than stigma. Ovary 0.6-1 x 0.5-0.7 mm. Capsules c. 2-3 x 1.75-2 mm. Seeds c. 0.3-0.6 x 0.3 mm, blue-violet or pallid.