Passerina esterhuyseniae Bredenk. & A.e.van Wyk

Shrubs or shrublets 0.3-0.5 m high. Stems greyish brown, younger branchlets greyish tomentose; cork finely fissured, grey-brown, displaying whitish sclerenchyma fibres at scars. Leaves imbricate on young branchlets, closely appressed to stem, cymbiform. plane shape linear-lanceolate, length x depth ±2.0 x 0.5 mm; lamina inversely ericoid. adaxial surface concave, setose, abaxial surface convex, glabrous; base sessile; apex rounded into subacute point; margins sometimes ciliate. Inflorescences polytelic synflorescences; main florescences and co-florescences spicate. Bracts enveloping flowers and fruits, largest after anthesis of flowers, becoming more coriaceous and rounded at fruit set. decussate, imbricate, sessile, helmet-shaped, widely obovate in outline, length x depth t 3.1 x 2.4 mm; lamina adaxially concave (inside), abaxially convex (outside), setose on inside, glabrous on outside, thinly chartaceous. smooth, concolorous. brownish, extending into a membranous rim or membranous wings; base cuneate; main vein extending to form a subacute to acute apex: margins ciliate in distal half. Floral envelope constituting hypanthium (fused calyx and androecium) and sepals; membranous and yellowish during pollination, dehydrated after shedding of pollen, becoming papyraceous, turning red to brown, ±4.6 mm long. Hypanthium a membranous cylindric tube, indumentum at ovary and neck tomentose, neck ±0.7 mm long, abscission tissue and articulation plane absent. Sepals 4. petaloid. imbricate in bud. flexed in flower; outer sepals concave oblong with apex adaxially tomentose, abaxially setose: inner sepals concave, obovate with apex adaxially glabrous, abaxially setose. Androecium: filaments of antipetalous whorl ±0.4 mm and those of antisepalous whorl ±1.2 mm long. Ovary ±1.8 x 0.5 mm. Fruit enveloped by persistent, loosely arranged hypanthium fragmenting over widest circumference of fruit, the fragmented hypanthium. sepals and androecium being shed: an achene with pericarp membranous and dry, ±2.5 x 1.2 mm.