Selago diffusa Thunb.

Dwarf woody shrublet c. 100-300 mm tall, ± virgately very well branched, branches spreading, decumbent or erect, old stems bare, up to c. 7 mm in diam., young branchlets puberulous, hairs up to 0.1-0.15 mm long in longitudinal bands, closely leafy. Leaves opposite becoming alternate upwards, not fascicled, largest 3-9 x 0.8-1.25 mm, spreading to erect, oblong, ± obtuse, base scarcely narrowed, decurrent, margins entire, plane, texture moderately thick, midrib ± raised on lower surface, glandular-punctate. Inflorescence a many-flowered moderately crowded spike c. 10-25 x 10-12 mm in flower, elongating slightly in fruit, lower flowers ± distant, terminating innumerable leafy branchlets. Bract adnate to minute pedicel and base of calyx tube, lowermost 4-6 x 1-1.7 mm, lanceolate, subacute, glandular-punctate, sometimes oozing, hairs up to 0.15-0.2 mm long on lower margins or occasionally hairs wanting. Pedicel up to c. 0.3 mm long. Calyx 3-4 mm long, campanulate, 5-lobed roughly one third of way to base, two anticous lobes slightly broader than other three, all lobes strongly keeled, hairs up to 0.15-0.4 mm long on margins, up to 0.15-0.3 mm long outside, often sparse, minute globular glands also sparse, mostly glabrous inside, rarely a few very minute glandular hairs at tips of lobes and/or literally one or two acute hairs on tube. Corolla tube 5-6.6 mm long (c. 4 mm in female flowers), funnel-shaped, limb 5.3-8 mm across lateral lobes, posticous lobes 2-3 x 1-1.8 mm, anticous lobes 2.2-4 x 1.3-1.8 mm, all lobes oblong-elliptic, white. Stamens: posticous filaments 2-2.7 mm long, anticous filaments 2.1-3.3 mm, all anthers shortly to well exerted (except in female flowers). Stigma and styte 5-9 mm long, style glabrous. Ovary c. 1 x 0.5 mm, glabrous. Cocci 2.5-3 x 2 mm, orange-brown, smooth, inner face plane, the pair of cocci held within the persistent calyx, separating tardily, each coccus almost solid, fertile area occupying one third or less of total volume. Flowering is principally in September, with an overall range from April to October.