Passerina rigida Wikstr.

Many-stemmed, much-branched, robust shrubs of (0.6-)1.0-2.0(-3.04) m tall on coastal dunes; secondary and tertiary branches ascending, conical in appearance, formation of branchlets profuse, decussate, older branch-lets self-pruning, lax or arcuate, 60-100 mm long, progressively shortening towards growing point, young branchlets ascending, 5-60 mm long, growing point nodding, fertile branchlets often pendulous and secund. Stems greyish brown, bark stringy; cork grey-brown; branchlets and growing points densely white-tomentose, tomentum forming lengthwise patterns with cork on older branchlets, which later become glabrous. Leaves imbricate, overlapping ±50%, appressed, plane shape lanceolate to ovate, length x depth 1.6-2.5 x 0.1-1.1 mm, adaxial surface concave, villous, abaxial surface convex, glabrous, greyish green, smooth, often covered by salt crystals; base sessile, dilated; median vein in distal half visible as a keel, forming acute apex; margins villous. Inflorescences with spikes usually extended, 6-10-flowered, arrangement subterminal, axis white-tomentose, proliferating growth common. Bracts appressed, ascending in fruit, widely ovate, length x depth (2.6-)3.4 x 1.4(-1.9) mm; lamina adaxially concave (inside), abaxially convex (outside), villous inside, glabrous outside, smooth, with 2 or 3 shallow folds on each side of main vein, wings absent, greyish green, coriaceous; base dilated; apex with distinct, short, acute point; margins tomentose, involute. Floral envelope ±4 mm long, membranous and yellow during pollination, dehydrated after shedding of pollen, turning red. Hypanthium glabrous at ovary, neck tomentose, ±0.8 mm long. Sepals: outer sepals cymbiform, midrib adaxially tomentose, abaxial surface glabrous, inner sepals obovate, adaxially tomentose, abaxially glabrous. Androecium with filaments of antipetalous whorl ±0.5 mm and those of antisepalous whorl ±1.5 mm long; anthers, ±0.8 x 0.4 mm, sub-basifixed, 2-thecous and 4-locular. Ovary 2.2 x 1.4 mm. Fruit a fleshy yellow berry, ±2.6 x 2.3 mm, enveloped by persistent, loosely arranged hypanthium, fragmenting over widest circumference of fruit, the fragmented hypanthium, sepals and androecium being shed. Seed ±1.4 x 1.1 mm.