Selago cupressoides Hilliard

Dwarf woody shrublet c. 150-450 mm tall, virgately well branched, old stems bare, old bare inflorescence axes persistent, subspinescent, young branches minutely puberulous, hairs up to c. 0.1 mm long, closely leafy. leaves opposite becoming alternate upwards, not fascicled, largest 2-5 x 0.5-1 mm, strongly appressed, lower ones sometimes spreading slightly, linear-oblong, apex obtuse, base not or scarcely narrowed, decurrent, margins entire, plane, texture moderately thick, venation invisible but often midrib raised below in the dry state, glandular-punctate, often oozing, otherwise glabrous except on decurrent part. Inflorescence a congested many-flowered raceme c. 8-20 x 8 mm in flower, c. 10-40 mm in fruit, becoming slightly lax or not, solitary at tips of innumerable leafy branchlets, often overtopped by 1-3 slender leafy shoots eventually terminated by an inflorescence. Bract adnate to base of calyx tube and minute pedicel, lowermost 2.3-3.5 x 1-1.2 mm, lanceolate, subacute, glandular-punctate, often oozing, hairs up to 0.25 mm long on lower margins together with minute glands, occasionally a few minute hairs at base outside, minute glands all over inner face, often oozing, then bract adhering strongly to calyx. Pedicel 0-0.2 mm long. Calyx 1.5-2.2 mm long, campanulate, 5-lobed roughly halfway to base, 2 anticous lobes slightly broader than other three, hairs up to 0.2-0.25 mm long on margins and all over outside, there with minute glands as well, minutely glandular inside, often viscous. Corolla tube 3-5 mm long, funnel-shaped, limb 3.2-4.5 mm across lateral lobes, posticous lobes 1.2-1.8 x 0.6-0.8 mm, anticous lobe 1.7-2.3 x 0.8-1.2 mm, all lobes oblong-elliptic, white fading to yellowish. Stamens: posticous filaments 1.2-1.8 mm long, anthers shortly exerted, anticous filaments 1.7-2 mm long, anthers well exerted. Stigma mA style c. 3-5 mm long, style glabrous. Ovary c. 0.8 x 0.3 mm, glabrous. Cocci 1.8-2.2 x 0.7-1 mm, red-brown, smooth, inner face plane, the pair of cocci held within the persistent calyx. Flowering is mainly in September.