Phylica sericea Pillans

A moderately branched wiry shrub, about 60 cm high, with slender branchlets clothed with grey velvety pubescence. Leaves 6-10 mm long, erect-spreading: lamina linear or lanceolate-linear, subacute, cordate at base, straight, with closely revolute margins covering the lower surface; upper surface minutely tuberculate-scabrid, clothed with subadpressed, grey, silky hairs, at length glabrous: petiole about 0.75 mm long, pubescent. Capitula solitary, about 8 mm wide, hemisphaeric, many-flowered, surrounded by leaves consisting in part of a considerably lengthened and widened petiole. Bracts of the outer flowers about 3.5 mm long, obovate, acuminate, dorsally villous: bracts of the inner flowers about 2.5 mm long, spathulate, acute, dorsally villous. Bracteoles 2, acicular, densely villous. Flowers shortly stipitate, 2.5-3 mm long: calyx-tube scarcely 1 mm deep, cyathiform, tomentose on the upper half of the outer surface: sepals 1 mm long, ovate-lanceolate, densely clothed with white tomentum on the outer surface, convex and glabrous on the inner surface. Petals inserted half way up the tube, consisting of a rotundate or orbicular, cucullate lamina and a cuneate-linear claw. Anthers cordate, 1-celled. Ovary turbinate, glabrous. Stigma sessile, trilobed. Fruit 4.5 mm long, obovate, smooth, chestnut-brown, with a small calyx-area.