Melhania randii Baker F.

Shrublet, 6-60 cm tall with several slender woody stems from a thick, woody rootstock, branches at first finely stellate-tomentose with minute reddish brown scales intermingled. Stipules narrowly lanceolate-subulate up to 8 mm long. Leaves entire, rarely some shallowly dentate in part, finely minutely stellate-tomentose and with scattered reddish brown scales (the scales sometimes stalked and all bearing short hairs) on the under surface, the upper surface finely stellate-tomentose and in some forms early glabrescent, narrowly oblong-elliptic or lanceolate-elliptic to ovate-oblong, 2-9 cm long, 0.2-1.5 cm broad, rounded at the base, subacute to rounded at the apex, mucronate; petiole up to 1 cm long, tomentose and lepidote. Inflorescence axillary, tomentose and lepidote, 1-3-flowered; peduncle 7 mm long and indistinguishable from the pedicel or up to 4 cm long and pedicels up to 1.2 cm long. Epicalyx-bracts narrowly lanceolate, narrowly ovate to ovate-acuminate, from 6-13 mm long and 1-6 mm broad (large bracts found mostly on the specimens from the eastern mountainous country), tomentose on both surfaces and with minute reddish scales intermixed on upper surface. Calyx-lobes lanceolate-acuminate, up to 11 mm long, tomentose and with conspicuous reddish brown scales on outer surface. Petals yellow, ‘bright golden yellow’ about 9 mm long, 7 mm broad at the oblique apex. Stamens with filaments 1 mm long, anthers 2-3 mm long, staminodes 3-5 mm long. Ovary stellate tomentose and with straight bristly hairs especially in upper portion, about 2 mm diam., style short, at maturity up to 2 mm long, branches when spreading up to 3 mm long. Capsule up to 1 cm long, stellate-pubescent and scaly.