Phylica pulchella Schltr.

A much branched shrub, 40-60 cm high, with ascending, wiry branches. Branchlets minutely tomentose and sparsely pilose. Leaves closely set, 5-8 mm long, ascending: lamina lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, acute or obtuse, subcordate or cordate at base, with closely revolute margins covering the lower surface; upper surface minutely tubercled up the middle, coarsely tubercled and, at first, villous on the margins: petiole about 1 mm long. Capitula about 1.5 cm wide, hemisphaeric, subtended by many expanded, villous leaves and consisting in the outer part of villous, foliaceous bracts. Bracts of the inner series 8-10 mm long, linear or acicular, densely villous on the margins, villous or pubescent on the upper half of both sides or nearly glabrous on both sides. Bracteoles sometimes present, about 4 mm long, setaceous, villous on the margins and upper parts. Flowers 5-6 mm long, tapered at base into a stipe 1-1.5 mm long: calyx-tube 2 mm deep, broadly obconic up to the middle, thence slightly narrowed to the mouth, shortly tomentose on the outer surface, glabrous within, with a cup-shaped disc at the base: sepals 1.5 mm long, lanceolate from a deltoid base; inner surface convex and scabridous on the upper half and down the sides, bearded from the sinuses inwards and upwards to about the middle; outer surface hirsute with long, white, spreading hairs. Petals absent. Anthers 1-celled. Ovary narrowly obconic, shortly tomentose. Style 1.25 mm long, columnar. Stigma divided into 3 stout lobes. Fruit about 6 mm long, narrowly rotundate, puberulous on the upper parts, red-brown, with a narrow remnant of the calyx and dark brown longitudinal lines.