Selago compacta Rolfe

Perennial herb with thin woody irregular caudex producing short stolons each terminating in one or a few aerial stems, 100-600 mm long, c. 1-3 mm in diam., erector decumbent, simple or subsimple below the inflorescence, closely leafy becoming pedunculoid below each glomerule, pubescent,.hairs 0.15-0.4 mm long, curled or foul retrorse. Leaves opposite at extreme base, soon alternate, fascicled, largest primary leaves 8-16(-20) x 1.4-4 mm, smaller and often less crowded upwards, elliptic, oblong-elliptic or oblong, apex subacute or obtuse, callose-tipped, base slightly narrowed to very short petiolar part, margins thickened, entire, midrib strongly raised on lower surface, hairs 0.15-0.3 mm long, all over upper surface and margins, on lower surface either confined to midrib or scattered all over. Inflorescence of compact glomerules c. 8-10 mm in diam. when fully expanded, scarcely elongating in fruit, occasionally 1-4 flowers distant below a glomerule, sometimes solitary at stem-tip, often up to c. 8 ascending lateral branchlets c. 30-150 mm long each terminating in a glomerule and sometimes branching to bear further glomerules. Bract adnate to pedicel only, 2. 8-6.5 x 1-1.8 mm, lanceolate-elliptic, concave, strongly keeled and with pale membranous margins, hairs up to 0.1-0.25 mm long on margins, on back either all over or confined to keel. Pedicel up to 0.5-2 mm long. Calyx 3.5-5.2 mm long, tubular, subequally 5-lobed, lobes much shorter than tube, deltoid, obtuse to subacute, pubescent all over, hairs up to 0.1-0.25 mm long, accrescent to enclose r cocci. Corolla tube 3.5-5.5 mm long, narrowly funnel-shaped, limb 4-5.5 mm across lateral lobes, posticous lobes 1.4-2.2 x 0.8-1.3 mm, anticous lobe 1.5-2.5 x 0.8-1.2 mm, all lobes oblong-elliptic, very minutely glandular outside, usually white, sometimes tinged mauve. Stamens: posticous filaments c. 1-2 mm long, anthers in mouthy anticous filaments c. 1-2 mm long, anthers very shortly excreted. Stigma and style 4-6 mm long, style puberulous. Ovary 0.5-0.8 x 0.3-0.4 mm. Cocci 2-2.8 x 0.8-1 mm, ± oblong, smooth, brown.