Monsonia parvifolia Schinz

Aromatic, decumbent or prostrate, many-stemmed, suffrutescent, 2-20 cm high and up to 1 min diam. Stems herbaceous to woody, the primary stem stunted and the lateral branches up to about 4
 long, 1-6 mm in diam., pilose or rarely pubescent with curved hairs, with numerous stalked glands, which are rarely also sessile, often reddish tinged. Leaves on the primary stem alternate and crowded and on the lateral branches opposite, when opposite those of a pair unequal, the smaller leaves with lateral branches and/or inflorescences in the axil; petiole with the same indumentum and glands as the stem, 1-4.5 x as long as the blade, 5-40 mm long, sometimes flattened or thickened at the base, often geniculate at the apex; stipules triangular to subulate, obscurely hairy, ciliate, pinkish or brown, papery; blade broadly ovate or broadly angular-ovate, 1-1.5 x as long as wide, 5-25 x 5-20 mm, sometimes folded upwards along the midrib, acute and mucronate at the apex, cordate or truncate at the base, the margin serrate to subentire, sometimes pleated and also pinkish-red, above pubescent with appressed hairs, obscurely pubescent, obscurely puberulent, or lanuginose, with stalked glands which are rarely also sessile, beneath pubescent with curved hairs or obscurely hairy in between the veins, with the veins pilose or lanuginose, glandular-punctate and also with stalked glands which are rarely also sessile; main veins palmate or subpalmate, 5 or 7 branching from the base, impressed above, prominent and pinkish-red beneath. Inflorescences axillary, 1-3-flowered, rarely up to 5-flowered, (27)50-80 mm long. Peduncles and pedicels slender, with the same indumentum and glands as the stem, but the pedicels less hairy, sometimes with gland-based hairs as well; peduncle 1-3 x as long as the pedicel, 10-45 mm long; pedicel 5-20 mm long, geniculate under the fruit; involucral bracts 2-4 per flower, stipule-like. Sepals green to pinkish-red, connate at the base for I mm, obovate, with limb 1.5-2 x as long as wide, 6-8 x 3-4 mm, outside pubescent or pilose, mostly with stalked glands, with 3 parallel, prominent main veins, inside glabrous except at the pubescent base; mucro almost apical, triangular and laterally compressed, recurved, pinkish-red, 2-4 mm long, pubescent or with a few scattered long hairs at its apex, with stalked glands; each sepal spurred at the connate base; the spur 1 mm deep and 0.5 mm in diam., adnate to the pedicel-apex and to the base of the staminal groups, inside puberulent and glanduliferous, aperture rimmed. Petals obtriangular, tapering into a long claw at the base, emarginate at the apex, white to bright yellow or pink, when pink the veins on the limbs reddish, 1.5-2.5 x as long as wide, 12-20 x 7-11 mm, 2-3 x as long as the sepals, 1.5-2.5 x as long as the stamens, with 5 main veins; the limb puberulent outside and glabrous inside, recurved; the claw pubescent on both sides with the hairs on the inner side directed towards the apex, channelled on the outer side. Stamens monadelphous, arranged in a cylindrical column around the pistil; the groups basally connate for 0.2-0.3 mm; the filaments of each group basally connate for 2-5 mm; filaments in the central stamens 7-11 mm long and in the lateral 6-10 mm, sometimes terete at the apex, inside glabrous, outside puberulent and channelled; the channel-base with 2 parallel vertical ciliated rims which grade into the rim of the spur-opening; anthers all equal, elliptic to oblong, 1.8-2.5 x 0.8-1 mm, subintrorse. Pistil 5-12 mm long; ovary broadly obovoid, 1.5-2 x 1.5-2 mm, pubescent; beak longitudinally grooved, 3-7 mm long, lanulose and glandular to obscurely pubescent and very glandular; the glands shortly stalked; stigmas linear to clavate, yellow, 1.5-3.5 x 0.4-0.5 mm, acute to obtuse at the apex, outside glabrous, entire to verrucose at the margin. Fruit 55-80 mm long; mericarps 4-7 mm and beak 45-75 mm long; mericarps narrowly obconical, brown or pale brown, often dark brown-dotted around the hair bases, shortly hirsute with white or copper-coloured hairs, ridged and rimmed at the apex, with the rim prominent and perpendicular to the tail, shortly hirsute outside, crested at the base and plumose towards the apex on the inner side where the tail detaches from the beak-axis. Seed obovoid, 3-3.5 x 2 mm, glabrous.