Phylica plumosa L.

A moderately and divaricately branched shrub, about 30 cm high, with wiry, pubescent branches. Branchlets clothed with a mixture of short and long pubescence which is often of a rusty colour. Leaves closely set, mostly 1-1.5 cm long: lamina linear-lanceolate, or linear, subcordate or rounded at base, with revolute margins covering a half or more of the lower surface, occasionally open-backed and lanceolate; upper surface with scattered tubercles on the margins and up the midrib or sometimes evenly tubercled over the whole area, pilose with rusty hairs, becoming glabrous, sometimes tardily: petiole much compressed dorsally. Spikes usually 1.5-2.5 cm long, dense, many-flowered, oblong or rotundate. Bracts foliaceous, slightly longer than the leaves immediately below, erect-spreading or spreading, villous on both sides with grey or buff hairs. Bracteoles 2, minute, linear, dorsally villous. Flowers stipitate, about 5 mm long: calyx-tube about 2.5 mm deep, narrowly cyathiform, covered outside with adpressed, retrorse, straight hairs, with a small, annular disc at the base within: sepals 2-2.5 mm long, deltoid-lanceolate, acute; inner surface flattened on the lower half, angular-convex towards the apex; outer surface covered with adpressed, straight, grey or buff hairs directed towards the apex. Petals inserted at the mouth of the tube, about 1 mm long: lamina ovate, cordate at base, cucullate, with incurved margins: claw scarcely half as long, cuneate-oblong. Anthers elliptic-oblong, 2-celled. Ovary obconic, covered with retrorse hairs except upon the base which tapers into a short, glabrous stipe. Style 1.25-1.5 mm long, columnar, terete. Stigma subulate. Fruit about 5 mm long, obovate-rotundate, glabrous except for a few scattered hairs upon the upper half, dark reddish brown, with a small calyx-base upon the summit.