Manulea robusta Pilg.

Shrublet, rootstock eventually stout, woody, up to 10-15 mm in diam. at crown, stems up to c. 300-600 mm tall, 3-4 mm diam. at base, woody, many from the crown, each with long rod-like branches from the base, densely glandular-puberulous, hairs up to 0.25 mm long, some broad-based and eventually scabrid, these sometimes very few or wanting and minute hairs predominating, eventually glabrescent, distantly leafy in lower part. Leaves opposite, bases connate, becoming alternate upwards as they pass into bracts, often with dwarf axillary shoots, primary leaves c. 8-40 x 2-9 mm, smaller and more distant upwards, oblanceolate to elliptic, apex ± acute, base narrowed to a short petiolar part, margins with 2-5 pairs of teeth, these sometimes rather obscure, upper small leaves often entire, both surfaces minutely glandular-puberulous, longer broad-based hairs forming scabrid projections also sometimes present. Flowers in long lax terminal racemes, these sometimes branched, branches stiffly ascending at an angle of c. 45°, flowers usually solitary, very occasionally paired. Bracts (lowermost) c. 3.5-10 x 0.5-2 mm, linear. Pedicels c. 3-6 mm long. Calyx obscurely bilabiate, tube 0.1-0.5 mm long, lobes c. 3-3.5 x 0.6-0.8 mm, lanceolate, enlarging a little in fruit, glandular-pubescent all over, hairs on margins up to 0.1-0.3 mm long. Corolla tube 11-14 x 1.2-1.9 mm in throat, cylindric, abruptly expanded in upper half, limb almost regular, c. 7.5-9.5 mm across lateral lobes, posticous lobes 2.7-3.5 x 2.2-4 mm, anticous lobe 3-4.5 x 2.4-3.5 mm, all lobes ± rotund, margins often revolute, orange to red-brown, outside of tube and lobes glandular-pubescent, hairs up to 0.1-0.2 mm long, upper surface of lobes with tiny clavate hairs forming a star-shaped pattern, inside of tube either glabrous or minutely glandular-puberulous below insertion of posticous filaments. Stamens 4, anticous anthers 0.6-1 mm long, included, posticous anthers 1.5-1.7 mm long, very deeply included, posticous filaments bearded. Stigma 0.5-1 mm long, often ± bifid, very deeply included. Style 0.5-1 mm long. Ovary 1.4-1.8 x 0.8-1.5 mm. Capsules c. 3.5-5 x 2-3 mm. Seeds c. 0.5 x 0.3 mm (few seen), pallid.