Passerina comosa C.H.Wright

Small shrubs, (0.3-)0.6-0.9(-1.06) m high, branches often virgate. Stems grey-brown; cork fissured lengthwise, grey-brown, surrounding prominent leaf scars; indumentum of young branches densely white or yellowish tomentose, flaking off with cork on older branchlets, which become glabrous. Leaves imbricate, overlapping ±20%, diverging at an angle of 20°, plane shape linear to narrowly lanceolate, length x depth (2.7-)3.0(-4.0) x 0.6-0.9 mm, adaxial surface concave, villous, abaxial surface convex, tomentose to villous, rugose or warty with bases of fallen hairs; base sessile; apex obtuse to subacute; margins glabrous, basally setose. Inflorescences with spikes usually extended, 6-12-flowered, arrangement subterminal, axis white-tomentose, proliferating growth common. Bracts appressed, widely ovate, length x depth (3.0-)5.5 x 1.5(-1.8) mm; lamina adaxially concave (inside), abaxially convex (outside), villous inside, tomentose to villous outside, coriaceous, rugose with bases of fallen hairs, ±3-ribbed on each side of main vein, margins submembranous or wings extended and abaxially setose to villous; base sessile; apex acute; margins glabrous, basally setose, involute. Floral envelope ±7.3 mm long, yellow-pink during pollination, dehydrated after shedding of pollen, turning red. Hypanthium glabrous at ovary, neck tomentose, ±0.9 mm long. Sepals: outer sepals cymbiform, inner sepals elliptic, outer and inner sepals adaxially glabrous, abaxially tomentose. Androecium with filaments of antipetalous whorl ±0.7 mm and those of antisepalous whorl ±1.5 mm long; anthers 0.7 x 0.4 mm, sub-basifixed, 2-thecous and 4-locular. Ovary ±2.7 x 1 mm. Fruit an achene with 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 the sepals and androecium being shed.