Habit: low branching, spreading, erect, silky hairy shrub to 50 – 60 mm high only; not scandent at any developmental stage; stems villous with a dense indumentum of long based pilose, and shorter glandular hairs; stems usually densely clothed in leaves. Leaves: adult leaves alternate, two ranked; almost sessile, ovate-elliptic, 10–20 mm long, 7–11 mm wide; bases rounded-truncate; margins softly hairy; dull medium green usually with a reddish border. Inflorescences axillary, solitary, irregular flowers with parts in fives; peduncles18–25 mm long, nodding, hairy. Sepals 3–5 mm, dark blue, acuminate, hairy: pilose and glandular; petals cohering at the base and then recurving, spathulate; 10–18 mm long; purple blue with fine purple striations darkening with age, throat white; pilose along the central upper surface. Stamens free, unequal heights, filaments flared towards the base, white becoming blue; anthers dorsifixed, smaller than filaments, white with blue pollen. Pistil bilocular; ovary silky hairy; stipe glabrous, style similar length to ovary, curving. Fruit capsular, ellipsoid to oblong, or obovate, 7–10 mm long, 5–7 mm diam., remaining hairy; inner smooth without compartments; seeds many, globose, wrinkled with a small aril. Flowering August to September.
Home