Monsonia umbellata Harv.

Prostrate or decumbent, aromatic, few-to many-stemmed, suffrutescent, 4-40 cm high and up to 60 cm in diam. Stems herbaceous to woody, up to about 55 cm long, 1-4 mm in diam., pubescent with curved hairs or mostly with a double indumentum the first of which is as above and the second is composed of few to numerous long white erect hairs, with stalked and sessile glands. Leaves alternate and crowded on the stunted primary stem, opposite or subopposite on the lateral branches, those of a pair unequal, with the bigger about twice as big as the smaller, the smaller leaves with short 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, 10-5
 long, sometimes geniculate at the apex, often swollen at the base; stipules triangular to subulate, 3-5 mm long, papery, obscurely hairy or glabrous, ciliate, brown; blade simple, broadly ovate, 1-1.5 x as long as wide, 10-50 x 10-45 mm, acute or rarely obtuse at the apex, cordate or rarely truncate at the base, dentate, ciliate and sometimes undulate or pleated at the margin; above glabrous to puberulent, glandular-punctate, and with stalked and sessile glands; beneath granulose, puberulent, glandular punctate and with stalked and sessile glands between the veins, mostly with the indumentum of the stem on the veins, otherwise puberulent; main veins palmate to subpalmate, 5 or 7 branching from the base, impressed above, prominent beneath. Inflorescences axillary, 2-14-flowered, 40-135 mm long. Peduncles and pedicels with the same indumentum and glands as the stem; peduncles 5-15 x as long as the pedicels, 25-115 mm long, stiff; pedicels 5-10 mm long, slender, geniculate under the fruit; involucral bracts 1-3 per flower, stipule-like. Flowers strongly aromatic. Sepals green, connate at the base for 1 mm, ovate or obovate, 1.5-2 x as long as wide, 6-7 x 3-4 mm, outside puberulent, with stalked and sessile glands, inside glabrous except at the puberulent base, with 3 parallel main veins, ciliate at the margin; mucro narrowly triangular at the base, terete and cylindrical towards the apex, puberulent, with a few long straight hairs at the apex, 2-3 mm long; the base spurred; the spur 0.6 mm deep and 0.4 mm in diam., connate with the pedicel-apex and the base of the stamens, inside of the spur finely puberulent and glanduliferous, aperture rimmed and directly opposite the filament-channel. Petals obtriangular, not recurved, tapering into a long claw at the base, emarginate at the apex, white or creamy-white, 2.5-5 x long as wide, 7-11 x 2.5-4.5 mm, 1.2-1.7 x as long as the sepals, 1.2-1.8 x as long as the stamens, the limb glabrous; the claw puberulent on both sides with the hairs on the inner side directing towards the apex, channelled on the outer side. Stamens monadelphous, arranged in a cylindrical column around the pistil; groups connate at the base for 0.2-0.3 mm; filaments of each group basallY connate for 2-3 mm; filaments in the central stamens 5-7 mm and in the lateral 4-6 mm long, inside glabrous, outside puberulent and channelled, the channel at its base rimmed, this rim confluent with the spur-opening; anthers all equal, orbicular, broadly elliptic, or elliptic, 0.8-1 x 0.5-1 mm, subintrorse. Pistil 6-8 mm long; ovary obovoid, 1.5-2 x 1.5-2 mm, silky-pubescent; beak longitudinally grooved, 3-4 mm long, lanulose or puberulent, with stalked glands; stigmas linear, yellow, 1.6-2 x 0.3-0.4mm, obtuse or acute at the apex, outside glabrous or obscurely verrucose; entire at the margin. Fruit 50-85 mm long, mericarps 5-6 x 1.8-2 mm and beak 40-8
 long; mericarps narrowly obconical, brown, often with dark brown spots 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; tail helically twisted in the basal part, shortly hirsute outside, crested at the base with long stiff hairs and plumose towards the apex with long silky hairs on the inner side where the tail detaches from the beak-axis. Seed obovoid, 3-4 x 1.3-2 mm, glabrous.

It is a Mediterranean plant. It grows in well-drained stony and sandy soils. It can grow in desert. It grows below 1,400 m above sea level. It can grow in arid places.

The stems, leaves and flowers are used for tea with milk and sugar. The seeds are added to porridge and also eaten as a snack food and in cakes. The seeds are also added to beer.