Phylica insignis Pillans

A moderately branched, rather rigid shrub, about 60 cm high, with ascending, often virgate and verticillate branches having distinct, rotundate swellings where inflorescences have been developed. Branchlets wiry, clothed with spreading, buff-coloured hairs. Leaves closely set, 1-1.8 cm long: lamina somewhat incurved, erect-spreading, linear-lanceolate, mucronulate, semiterete, rounded at base, with closely revolute margins entirely covering the lower surface or almost so; upper surface evenly tubercled with closely set tubercles, at first conspicuously pilose, becoming glabrous: petiole about 2 mm long. Capitula 1-1.5 cm wide, hemisphaeric, surrounded by many pilose leaves and foliaceous bracts. Bracts of the inner flowers 5-7 mm long, linear or acicular, with a dense covering on the outer surface of long, wavy, grey hairs. Bracteoles absent. Flowers stipitate, 4.5-7 mm long, covered outside with long, ascending, wavy hairs which are caducous on the tube and ovary: calyx-tube 1.75-2 mm deep, narrow-cyathiform, with an inconspicuous disc lining the lower half: sepals 1.5-2 mm long, lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, acute or subobtuse, spreading from the middle; inner surface rounded-convex, angular towards the apex, with minute, papilliform hairs on the angle. Petals inserted half way up the tube, about 0-75 mm long: lamina elliptic, lanceolate, oblanceolate-or oblong-elliptic, acute or obtuse, incurved at the apex or cucullate, concave: claw linear or cuneate-linear, as long or slightly shorter. Anthers cordate, 1-celled. Ovary tubular-obconic. Style 0.75-1 mm long, cylindric. Stigma scarcely distinct, shortly conical, divided into 3 minute, erect lobes.