Passerina ericoides L.

Low, rounded, many-stemmed shrublets. branching profusely on new growth, 0.3-1.2 m high, older branch lets indurate, young branchlets lax, often arcuate. Stems light greyish brown, cork fissured lengthwise, grey-brown, whitish scabrous, surrounding prominent leaf scars; indumentum at growing point densely white strigose, flaking off with cork on older branchlets, which become glabrous. Leaves slightly succulent, imbricate, overlapping ±50%, diverging at an angle of 45°, plane shape oblong, length x depth 2.5-2.8 x 0.6-0.7 mm, adaxial surface concave, villous, abaxial surface convex, glabrous, greyish green, smooth; base sessile, dilated; apex obtuse to subacute; margins glabrous, basally sparsely setose. Inflorescences with spikes usually extended. 6-12-flowered, arrangement subterminal, axis white strigose, proliferating growth common. Bracts spreading at an angle of 60° (flowering) or 90° (fruiting), oblong to lanceolate, length x depth ±3.6 x 1.5 mm; lamina adaxially concave (inside), abaxially convex (outside), villous inside, glabrous outside, smooth, wings absent, greyish green, slightly succulent; base dilated; apex obtuse to subacute; margins glabrous, basally sparsely setose, involute. Floral envelope ±5 mm long, coriaceous and greenish during pollination, dehydrated after shedding of pollen, turning red. Hypanthium ovate-oblong at ovary, strigose, neck strigose, ±0.6 mm long. Sepals globose when young, concave, widely obovate, outer and inner sepals adaxially puberulent, abaxially glabrous. Androecium with filaments of antipetalous whorl ±0.5 mm and those of antisepalous whorl ±1.3 mm long: anthers large, ±0.9 x 0.7 mm, subbasifixed, 2-thecous and 4-locular. Ovary ±2.1 x 1.7 mm. Fruit a fleshy red berry, ±5.3 x 4 mm, enveloped by persistent, loosely arranged hypanthium. fragmenting over widest circumference of fruit, the fragmented hypanthium, sepals and androecium being shed. Seed ±2.9 x 1.6 mm.