Monsonia grandifolia R.Knuth

Robust, erect, suberect or rarely decumbent, suffrutescent, few-stemmed, 15-40 cm high. Roots sometimes tuberous. Stems herbaceous to woody, often ribbed and laterally compressed, up to approximately 50 cm long, 1-4 mm in diam., mostly with a double indumentum the first of which is pubescent with curved hairs and the second of few to many long erect gland-based hairs, m6stly profusely glandular, with both stalked and sessile glands. Leaves alternate at the base of the main stems, and subopposite to opposite towards their apices and on the lateral branches, those of a pair often unequal, the smaller leaves with lateral branches and/or inflorescences in the axil; petiole with the same indumentum as the stem, 0.2-0.7 x as long as the blade; stipules subulate to acicular, with the same indumentum as the stem, 7-17 mm long, mostly reddish; blade ovate to very narrowly ovate, angular-ovate, rarely elliptic, 1.3-5 x as long as wide, mostly folded upwards along the midrib, (22)30-75 x (9)13-35 mm, thick-textured; attenuate to acute, sometimes 1-3-toothed or shortly mucronate at the apex; truncate, obtuse or cordate at the base; margin serrate or serrate-crenate, often sinuate or lobed, sometimes ciliate, mostly red tinged; above granulose and pubescent or with the indumentum of the stem, with numerous sessile glands and often also with stalked glands; beneath densely granulose, with the indumentum and glands of the stem all over or only on the veins and then pubescent with erect hairs in between; main veins pinnate or subpinnate, with 5 or 7 branching from the base, impressed above, prominent beneath. Inflorescences axillary, rarely terminal, 1-2-f1owered, 55-130 mm long. Peduncles and pedicels with the same indumentum and glands as the stem, the pedicel, furthermore, mostly extremely glandular and lanulose; peduncles 0.5-1.6(3) x as long as the pedicels, 15-55 mm long, mostly spirally twisted; pedicels 15-60 mm long and geniculate under the fruit; involucral bracts 2-4per flower, subulate or very narrowly ovate, with the same indumentum as the stem. Sepals narrowly ovate to narrowly obovate, green, free, or basally connate for 1-
 and then with a shallow pouch at the base of each sepal, 2.4-4 x as long as wide, 10-15 x 3-5 mm; outside with the indumentum of the stem and very glandular; inside glabrous, with 3 parallel veins; ciliate at the margin; mucro terete with a globular pocket of yellowish, resinous granules at its base, 4-5.5 mm long, greenish to reddish, with the same indumentum as the sepals. Petals obtriangular, often recurved, 1.5-2.5 x as long as wide, 20-30 x 10-20 mm, 1.5-2.5 x as long as the sepals, 1.5-2 x as long as the stamens, white, pale yellow or creamy; venation greyish-blue; main veins 5 and with few to many sessile glands outside and sparsely villose or rarely also pubescent inside; winged, ciliate and pubescent at the base; apex obscurely dentate, crenate, sinuate or lobed. Stamens monadelphous, arranged in a cup-shaped column around the pistil; groups basally connate for 1-2 mm; filaments ofeach group basally connate for 1.5-4 mm; filaments in the central stamens 9-13 mm and in the lateral 5-11 mm long, pubescent basally, terete at the apex; a transversely ovate to ovate, rimmed gland-cavity is situated on the outer side of the base of each group; anthers oblong to narrowly oblong, 2.5-4 x 1-2 mm, those of the long filaments slightly larger, subintrorse. Pistil 10-15 mm long; ovary obovoid to broadly obovoid, 2-3 x 2-2.5 mm, hyalino-hirsute; beak longitudinally grooved, 6-8 mm long, pubescent, with stalked glands all over or only in the basal part; stigmas clavate to spathulate, 2.5-4 x 0.4-0.7 mm, blackish and glabrous to pubescent outside; the inner side with the lanulose or papillose receptive surface, obscurely to conspicuously serrate to dentate or crenate at the margin, obtuse or acute at the apex. Fruit 65-80 mm long; mericarps 10-15 x 2 mm and beak 50-65 mm long. Mericarps narrowly obovoid, brown, whitish-hirsute, some of the hairs with red spots around their bases, obliquely domed and obscurely rimmed at the apex; hirsute outside, hispid inside where the tail detaches from the beak-axis; these stiff hairs straw-coloured and long, forming a crest at the tail's base. Seed narrowly obovoid, 6 x 2 mm, glabrous.