Nemesia acornis K.E.Steiner

Suffrutescent perennial herb to c. 60 cm high, stems simple or branching from the base, suberect to erect, quadrangular, up to c. 3 x 3 mm in cross-section, glandular-villous to hirsute. Leaves simple, opposite, 18-46 x 9-37 mm, ovate to widely ovate, apex acute, margins dentate, teeth mucronate, base rounded to subcordate, upper surface thinly villous, lower surface glandular pubescent along the veins, with tobacco-like odour when crushed; petioles up to 9 mm long, decreasing upwards, uppermost leaves sessile. Flowers 1-7 in loosely panicled terminal racemes; bracts c. 6-13 x 3.5-7 mm, opposite or alternate, leaf-like, becoming reduced upwards; pedicels c. (5-)7-14(-18) mm long, glandular-villous, elongating and forming a c. 90° upward bend in the distal third in fruit. Calyx segments 5, the 3 upper lobes ± equal, c. 3.5-4.0 x 1.0-1.2 mm, lanceolate-ovate, acuminate, the 2 lower lobes broader, c. 4.0-4.5 x 1.5-1.9 mm, ovate, acuminate, glandular-villous, especially at the base. Corolla bilabiate, (8.4-)11.0-15.5(-18.0) x (8.3-)9.7-14.0(-15.5) mm; upper lobes c. 2.5-5.0(-6.0) x 2.2-4.0 mm, obovate, rounded to acute; lateral lobes (3.5-)5.0-6.0 x (2.5-)4.0-5.0 mm, rounded to apiculate; lower lobe c. 7.0-9.5 x 6.0-9.5 mm, ovate to widely obovate with a poorly developed palate at the base, all lobes white; palate glabrous, yellow; tube below the upper lip c. 3.7 mm long, below the lower lip pouch-like, c. 3.0 x 4.5 mm, with a central ridge-like invagination, cream with red to purple blotches or flecks inside; invagination 2.2-3.0 mm long and 1.0-1.5 mm deep, triangular in cross section with the opening at the base c. 1 mm wide, densely bearded with short reddish-brown clavate hairs on upper portion. Stamens lying along upper surface of the corolla; filaments of anticous pair (twisted into the posticous position) c. 2.5-3.0 mm long, curved at the base, posticous filaments c. 1.0 mm long, all sparsely glandular pubescent; anthers c. 0.5-0.6 mm long, in two pairs, each pair strongly coherent. Ovary c. 1.0 x 1.0 mm, semi-elliptic in outline; ovules c. 18-26 in each loculus; style c. 0.3 mm long, curved at the tip; stigma shallowly bilobed, lying between the two anther pairs. Capsule c. 4-9 x 5-10 mm, widely obovate to oblong in outline, apex rounded or with horn-like extensions; seeds 1.6-1.8 x 1.5-2.3 mm, rectangular to quadrate in outline, winged, wings up to 0.8 mm wide, central embryo-containing portion c. 1.6-1.8 x 0.5-0.7 mm, oblong, tuberculate.