Passerina rubra C.H.Wright

Much-branched, erect shrubs, with rigid branchlets and inflorescences or smaller, extensively branched, rounded shrublets under arid, calcareous habitat conditions, (0.2-)0.3-0.75(-1.1) m high. Stems: older ones grey-brown, indurate, and sclerenchyma fibres exposed; young stems reddish brown, indumentum whitish tomentose, forming lengthwise patterns with cork on older branches, which gradually become glabrous; cork Assuring lengthwise; internodes longer than leaves during prolific lengthening of branchlets or shorter under arid conditions. Leaves greyish green, ascending, appressed. decussate and rigid, or under arid conditions, imbricate (overlapping 5-30%), appressed or ascending, diverging at an angle of up to 30°; lamina narrowly lanceolate or oblong, longitudinally folded, triangular in section, length x depth 2.4-4.3 x 0.7 mm, adaxial surface concave, tomentose, abaxial surface glabrous; base sessile; apex obtuse: margins glabrous, involute. Inflorescences with conspicuous, multiflowered main and co-florescences; spikes robust, rigid, extended, narrowly ellipsoid, with rows of enlarged, decussate, pointed bracts, 20-30-flowered, arrangement subterminal, axis white-tomentose, proliferating growth common. Bracts grey-green, rose-tinted during flowering time, ascending, imbricate, widely ovate, midrib shortly extended into a point, length x depth (4.3-)5.1 x 1.8(-2.0) mm; older bracts folded lengthwise along midrib, younger bracts adaxially concave (inside), abaxially slightly convex (outside), villous inside, glabrous outside, coriaceous; wings widely ovate, chartaceous, ±5-ribbed, reticulately veined; base cuneate: apex acute; margins ciliate in distal half. Floral envelope ±8.4 mm long, papyraceous and yellow-pink during pollination, dehydrated after shedding of pollen, turning red to brown. Hypanthium glabrous at ovary, neck exserted. sparsely pubescent, ±2 mm long. Sepals: outer sepals cymbiform. Ad-and abaxially glabrous, inner sepals obovate, adaxially scantilly tomentose, abaxially glabrous. Androecium with filaments of antipetalous whorl ±0.7 mm and those of antisepalous whorl ±1.7 mm long; anthers ovoid, ±0.9 x 0.3 mm, sub-basifixed, 2-thecous and 4-locular. Ovary ±2.1 x 1.1 mm. Fruit an achene with pericarp membranous and dry, ±2.1 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.