Decumbent or prostrate, suffrutescent, many-stemmed, aromatic, about 10-25 cm high. Stems herbaceous to woody, the primary stem stunted and the lateral branches up to about40 cm long, 1-5 mm in diam., with a double indumentum the first of which is puberulent to pubescent with curved hairs and the second is composed of few to numerous pilose long straight erect gland-based hairs, the second indumentum rarely absent, with stalked and rarely also sessile glands, often reddish-or purplish-tinged. Leaves of the primary stem alternate and crowded, those of the lateral branches opposite or subopposite, those of a pair unequal, the larger 2-3 x as big as the smaller, the smaller leaves with lateral branches and/or inflorescences in the axil; petiole with the same indumentum and glands as the stem, 0.5-2 x as long as the blade, 9-60 mm long, often flattened or swollen at the base, often geniculate at the apex; stipules triangular to subulate, obscurely hairy, ciliate, brown or reddish, papery; blade broadly ovate, 1-1.5 x as long as wide, 8-40 x 7-35 mm, acute or rarely obtuse and shortly mucronate at the apex, cordate or rarely truncate at the base, the margin dentate to subserrate, sometime pleated and ciliate; both sides appressed-puberulent or obscurely puberulent, With stalked and rarely also sessile glands, glandular punctate; the veins-beneath with the same indumentum as the stem; main veins palmate or subpalmate, 5 or 7 branching from the base, impressed above, prominent beneath. Inflorescences axillary or rarely terminal, 2-12-llowered, 95-175 mm long. Peduncles and pedicels with the same indumentum and glands as the stem; peduncles erect, stout, 6-15 x as long as the pedicel, 70-150 mm long; pedicels slender, 5-25 mm long, geniculate under the fruit; involucral bracts 2-3 per flower, stipule-Iike. Sepals green to reddish-pink, connate at the base for 1-2 mm, obovate; limb 1.8-2.5 x as long as wide, 7-9 x 3-4 mm, outside pubescent or puberulent, often also with scattered long straight hairs, with stalked and rarely also sessile glands, inside glabrous except at the pubescent base, with 3-5 parallel main veins, ciliate at the margin, with a terete mucro with narrowly triangular base, 1-3 mm long, puberulent, sometimes also with stalked glands and a few long hairs, spurred at the base, the spur 1 mm deep and 0.5 mm in diam., connate with the pedicel apex and the base of the stamens, inside puberulent and glanduliferous, aperture rimmed and directly opposite the filament channel. Petals obtriangular, recurved, tapering into a long claw at the base, emarginate to obtuse at the apex, white, white with pink apices, pink, or pink with deep pink apices, 1.5-2.5 x as long as wide, 12-18 x 51-l0 mm, 1.7-2.3 x as long as the sepals, 1.4-2 x as long as the stamens; main veins 5; the limb glabrous; the claw puberulent and channelled outside, pubescent inside with the hairs turned towards the apex. Stamens monadelphous, arranged in a cylindrical column around the pistil, groups basally connate for 0.2-0.5 mm; filaments of each group basally connate for 3-5 mm; filaments in the central stamens 8-12 mm and in the lateral 7-11 mm long, inside glabrous, outside puberulent and channelled; the base of the channel with 2 parallel, vertical rims which are confluent with the rim around the spur-opening; anthers all equal, oblong to elliptic, 1.5-2.5 x 0.8-1 mm, subintrorse. Pistil 9-14 mm long; ovary broadly obovoid to very broadly obovoid, 2-2.2 x 1.5-2 mm, pubescent; beak longitudinally grooved, 4-6 mm long, puberulent or lanulose and with stalked glands; stigmas yellow, 3-5 x 0.3-0.9 mm, outside glabrous, verrucose to papillose at the margin. Fruit 50-70 mm long, mericarps 5-6 x 1.5-2.5 mm, beak 45-65 mm long; mericarps narrowly obconical, brown, often dotted dark brown around the hair bases, shortly hirsute with the hairs white or copper-coloured, ridged and rimmed at the apex; the rim prominent and perpendicular to the tail; the tail shortly hirsute outside' the inner side where it detaches from the beak-axis crested at the base and plumose towards the apex. Seed obovoid, 3-4 x 1.8-2 mm, glabrous. This species flowers and sets fruit the year round with a peak period in late summer and autumn, February to June.
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