Annual herb, stems c. 40-250 mm long, up to 2.5 mm diam. at base, simple to branching from the base and above, erect or decumbent, leafy, glandular-puberulous particularly on the upper parts, pubescent throughout with eglandular hairs up to 0.5-1 mm long, obtuse, usually more or less retrorse. Leaves opposite, often becoming alternate on the inflorescence branches, blade of radical leaves (which are often wanting) c. 4-13 x 2-6 mm, elliptic, tapering to a flat petiolar part c. 3-8 mm long, from about half as long to about equalling the blade; primary stem leaves c. 7-30 x 0.5-4 mm, linear-oblong to oblanceolate, often with axillary tufts of smaller leaves, margins entire to toothed (2-5 pairs of teeth in the upper half) particularly in the larger leaves, upper surface with coarse tapering eglandular hairs up to 0.6- long, mostly along the margins and on the lower half of the blade, lower surface glandular-puberulous, eglandular hairs confined to midrib. Flowers many in crowded rounded heads terminating all the branch-lets, which are nude towards the tips, the heads elongating in fruit and sometimes becoming very lax. Bracts at base of racemes (2-)4-12 x (0.5-)1-1.75 mm, smaller upwards, linear to oblong-lanceolate, adnate to pedicel only or to extreme base of calyx as well, glandular-puberulous all over, eglandular hairs as well, mainly on margins, up to 0.5-1 mm long. Pedicels up to 0.5-1.5 mm long. Calyx bilabiate, tube 1-1.6 mm long, anticous lobe 1.5-2.5 x 0.5-0.8 mm, anticous lip split 1-1.8 mm, posticous lobes narrower and more deeply separated, whole calyx glandular-puberulous with longer eglandular hairs on margins. Corolla tube 2.54 x 0.75-1.2 mm, widening slightly in throat, limb 4-6 mm across the lateral lobes, posticous lobes 0.75-1.75 x 0.75-1.6 mm, anticous lobe 2-3 x 1-2 mm, all lobes elliptic, posticous lip bearded, hairs sometimes extending to the anticous lobes, orange patch at base of posticous lip or lower half of posticous lobes orange, rest of limb blue or mauve, perhaps sometimes creamy-coloured. Stamens 4, anthers 0.6-0.8 mm long, dark-coloured, all well exserted. Stigma well exserted. Capsules 2.5-3 x 2-2.5 mm Seeds many in each loculus, 0.25-0.5 mm long. Flowering has been recorded between March and October with most records (14 out of 21 collections seen) in August and September.
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Decumbent annual herb, up to 150 mm tall, much-branched, viscid-pubescent, very leafy. Spikes dense, globose in flower. Flowering calyx or nearly equalling bract. Flowers mauve and orange.
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