Passerina montana Thoday

Small trees or shrubs, (0.2-)1.0-2.0(-2.5) m high. Stems branching from base up to growing points, young stems profusely branched, young branchlets ascending; branch-lets terminally leafless and woolly, with conspicuous terminal scars after dispersal of fruit; bark greyish brown, younger branchlets densely white-tomentose, villous closer to growing points; bark on older branchlets shredding, greyish brown, remains of tomentum forming lengthwise strips; leaf scars conspicuous; older stems fissured lengthwise exposing greyish white sclerenchyma fibres; internodes mostly shorter than leaves. Leaves imbricate on young branchlets, closely appressed to stem, diverging at an angle of ±0-5°, cymbiform, lamina inversely ericoid, adaxial surface concave, tomentose, abaxial surface laterally compressed and glabrous, plane shape linear to lanceolate, length x depth 1.5-2.5(-4.0) x 0.6-0.8 mm; base sessile, dilated; apex acute, median vein prominent in upper third of leaf, incurved at apex; margins involute. Inflorescences subcapitulate, ± ellipsoid. Bracts decussate, imbricate, sessile, appressed, ovate to obovate in outline, length x depth (3.2-)4.0 x 0.9(-1.6 mm); lamina adaxially (inside) concave and villous, abaxially (outside) convex and glabrous, thinly coriaceous, obscurely ribbed, yellowish green, margins of fruiting bracts turning red; base sessile; main vein extending into subacute apex; wings membranous, brownish. Floral envelope papyraceous and yellow-pink during pollination, dehydrated after shedding of pollen, turning red to brownish, ±5.8 mm long. Hypanthium glabrous at ovary, neck tomentose, ±0.8 mm long, fragmentation at neck base. Sepals: outer sepals cymbiform, adaxially scantilly tomentose, abaxially glabrous; inner sepals obovate, adaxially tomentose, abaxially glabrous. Androecium with filaments of antipetalous whorl ±0.6 mm and those of antisepalous whorl ±1.5 mm long; anthers ±0.8 x 0.4 mm. Ovary ±2.1 x 0.6 mm. Fruit an achene enveloped in beak-like, reddish, papyraceous hypanthium, fragmented at neck base; pericarp membranous and dry, ±2.3 x 1.2 mm.