Passerina burchellii Thoday

Low, erect, many-stemmed shrublets, branching mostly on new growth, ±0.3 m high, from a common rootstock. Stems greyish brown, cork fissured, grey-brown, scabrous, surrounding prominent leaf scars; indumentum at growing point densely white-tomentose, flaking off with cork on older branchlets, which become glabrous. Leaves imbricate, overlapping ±50%, diverging at an angle of 30°, plane shape rhombic, length x depth 2.8(-3.5) x 1.5 mm, adaxial surface concave, villous, abaxial surface convex, glabrous; base sessile, cuneate; apex subacute, bearded; margins brownish setose. Inflorescences with spikes extended, number of spikes often reduced, spikes sometimes solitary, 6-12-flowered, arrangement subterminal, axis white-tomentose, proliferating growth common. Bracts appressed, rhombic, length x depth (3.2-)3.5 x 1.5 mm; lamina adaxially concave (inside), abaxially convex (outside), villous inside, glabrous outside, coriaceous and smooth, extending into a smooth wing, dark green when fresh, dark brown in dried specimens; base cuneate; main vein extending into acute, bearded apex; margins brownish setose, involute. Floral envelope ±4.7 mm long, papyraceous and yellow-pink during pollination, dehydrated after shedding of pollen, turning red to brown. Hypanthium glabrous at ovary, neck tomentose, ±0.8 mm long. Sepals: outer sepals cymbiform, midrib adaxially and apex abaxially setose; inner sepals obovate, adaxially tomentose, apex abaxially setose. Androecium with filaments of antipetalous whorl ±0.7 mm and those of antisepalous whorl ±1.5 mm long; anthers 0.5 x 0.3 mm, subbasifixed, 2-thecous and 4-locular. Ovary ±1.6 x 0.6 mm. Fruit an achene, pericarp membranous and dry, ±2.5 x 1.2 mm, enveloped by persistent, loosely arranged hypanthium, breaking up at neck base due to dehydration and torsification of tissue, resulting in sepals and androecium being shed.