Nemesia elata K.E.Steiner

Perennial herb or subshrub, up to 1 m tall; stems erect or decumbent, simple or branching; lateral stems up to 43(-80) mm long, rectangular in cross section with comers ridged, up to 4.9(-5.1) x 3.1(-5.1) mm, often fleshy, glabrous. Leaves, opposite, sessile to petiolate; lamina lanceolate to ovate, (7-)18-77(-87) x (4.7-)10-37(-45) mm, apex acute to acuminate, base cuneate; margins sharply dentate; veins impressed adaxially, 5-7-nerved abaxially, glabrous; petioles up to 20 mm long, canaliculate, decurrent, glabrous. Inflorescence of solitary alternate flowers, in lax, bracteate racemes, or subcorymbose, up to 480(-660) mm long, glabrous, developing long internodes in fruit; bracts alternate (occasionally opposite), sessile or with petioles up to 3 mm long, lowermost leaf-like, up to 62 x 32 mm, uppermost gradually reduced to 8.4 x 0.8 mm, narrowly lanceolate to linear, apex acute to acuminate, base truncate; margins entire or with a few widely spaced teeth, with occasional sessile glandular trichomes; pedicels 8-20 mm long, ascending, dorsally canaliculate, mostly glabrous, sparsely glandular-pubescent apically, elongating up to 23 mm and ascending in fruit. Calyx lobes 5, narrowly lanceolate, spreading, glabrous, upper lobe 2.7-3.6 x 0.6-0.7 mm, upper lateral lobes 2.8-3.6 x 0.7-0.8 mm, lower two lobes ± 2.9-3.1 x 0.8-0.9 mm, acute; margins scabridulous. Corolla bilabiate, (7.3-)9.2-12.0 x (6.5-)8.7-10.8 mm, upper lip white, reverse violet, with faint, grey-blue lines at base above corolla opening, four-lobed, up to 9.2 x 10.8 mm, two inner lobes oblong, 2.3-3.3 x 1.6-2.6 mm, obtuse, bases oblique, two outer lobes oblong, 4.2-4.8 x 2.5-3.0 mm, bases strongly oblique, rounded; lower lip widely obovate, obtuse to emarginate, 7.9-8.9 x 8.1-9.4 mm, white; base of lower lip with raised palate, 1.4-2.4 x 4.2-4.7 mm, convex, white to pale greyish yellow, often bisected by thin grey line, densely pubescent with clavate trichomes, these transitioning distally to shorter, papillate, epidermal cells; hypochile 3.4-4.3 x 2.3-2.4 mm, V-to U-shaped in cross section with purple veining, densely covered with white clavate trichomes with long thin stalks ± 0.2 mm long, base of tube spurred, spur 3.4-4.1 mm long, projecting backwards and decurved in distal half, basal portion lavender to purple, distal half greyish green, glabrous outside, pubescent with white, clavate trichomes inside for ± half the length. Stamens 4, whitish, lying in shallow depression, 1.6-1.9 x 1.0-1.1 mm, in upper inner surface of corolla tube; anticous filaments (twisted into posticous position) 2.5-2.7 mm long, sigmoid, but ± straight in middle, glabrous, posticous filaments ± 0.8-0.9 mm long, ± straight except at base where they are strongly curved; anthers 0.6-0.8 mm long, each pair strongly coherent; pollen white. Ovary oblong-ovoid, laterally compressed, 0.9-1.2 x 0.8-1.0 mm; style ± straight, slightly compressed contrary to ovary, lying between anther pairs; stigma oblong-ovate, 0.3 x 0.25 mm. Capsules solitary to subfasciculate, oblong in outline, laterally compressed contrary to septum, bivalvate, 8.0-13.0 x 4.7-6.3 mm, emarginate with two widely diverging acute tips. Seeds winged, broadly ovate, 1.9-2.2 x 1.9-2.1 mm, wing 0.4-0.7 mm wide, encircling seed except at ends, light brown, membranous with numerous parallel, brownish veins, internal portion of seed lanceolate in outline, 1.7-2.1 x 0.8-1.0 mm, with reticulate and verrucate, dark brown exotesta.