Phylica rigida Eckl. & Zeyh.

A moderately branched shrub, about 60 cm high, rather stout in the lower parts, with ascending, often virgate branches. Branchlets wiry, covered with grey tomentum, which persists through many years, and having longer, spreading, silky hairs intermixed with the tomentum. Leaves closely set, sometimes very crowded, 1-2.5 cm long: lamina erect-spreading or spreading, incurved, linear-lanceolate, attenuate, sub cordate at base, with closely re volute margins covering the lower surface; upper surface smooth except for slightly raised tubercles on the margins, at first pilose with long, white hairs on the margins and up the midrib: petiole 1.5-3 mm long. Capitula usually solitary, about 2 cm wide, rotundate; the outer portion composed of a dense involucre of pilose, slender leaves. Bracts 1-1.3 cm long, filiform, curved and twisted, plumose. Bracteoles 2, similar but shorter. Flowers stipitate, about 8 mm long: calyx-tube 1.25-1.75 mm deep, cyathiform, villous on the outer surface or almost glabrous on the lower parts, glabrous within, with a shallow cup-shaped disc: sepals 4-4.5 mm long, lanceolate, acuminate, somewhat recurved above the middle, villous with long, white hairs on the outer surface; inner surface flat in the lower half, angular-convex in the upper, puberulous from the apex down the ridge to about the middle where the hairs suddenly become longer and a beard of straight hairs arises, the margins being villous down to the sinuses. Petals absent. Stamens inserted shortly within the mouth of the tube. Anthers 1-celled. Ovary very narrowly turbinate, tapered at base into a stipe, constricted at the top, obscured by a dense growth of hairs arising from between the flowers, sparsely or amply clothed with deciduous straight or woolly hairs. Style 1.25-1.5 mm long, slender. Stigma capitate.