Passerina pendula Eckl. & Zeyh. ex Meisn.

Erect, many-stemmed shrubs, 1.0-1.5 m high, young branchlets often pendulous. Stems greyish brown; indumentum of young stems densely white-tomentose, flaking off on older branchlets, which become glabrous, remaining indumentum forming lengthwise patterns with grey-brown cork; brown leaf scars prominent. Leaves greyish green, imbricate, overlapping ±25%, appressed, plane shape rhombic, length x depth 2.5-3.4 x 1.0-1.2 mm, adaxial surface concave, comose, abaxial surface convex, softly coriaceous and smooth, glabrous; base sessile, abruptly tapered; apex subacute: margins brownish setose. Inflorescences with multiflowered main and co-florescences; spikes usually extended. 6-16-flowered, arrangement subterminal, axis white-tomentose, proliferating growth common. Bracts greyish green when fresh, grey-brown in dried specimens, appressed, rhombic, length x depth (3.0-)4.2 x 1.0(-1.5) mm; lamina adaxially concave (inside), abaxially convex (outside), comose inside, glabrous outside, softly coriaceous and smooth, wings membranous: base cuneate; apex obtusely angled: margins brownish setose. Floral envelope ±6.5 mm long, membranous and yellow-pink during pollination, dehydrated after shedding of pollen, turning red to brown. Hypanthium glabrous at ovary, neck tomentose, ±0.6 mm long. Sepals: outer sepals cymbiform. adaxially scantily tomentose. abaxially glabrous: inner sepals oblong, adaxially scantily tomentose, abaxially glabrous. Androecium with filaments of antipetalous whorl ±1.5 mm and those of antisepalous whorl ±2 mm long: anthers ±0.8 x 0.4 mm, sub-basifixed, 2-thecous and 4-locular. Ovary ±2.0 x 0.7 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.