Selago psammophila Hilliard

Perennial herb or shrublet, loosely and ± virgately well branched, branches c. 300-450 mm long (no basal parts seen), straggling to erect, lower part of stems woody, nude, upper flowering stems pubescent with fine very short ± recurved hairs intermingled with ± spreading hairs up to 0.15-0.4 mm long, longest hairs near inflorescence, leafy. Leaves not or. scarcely fascicled, opposite becoming alternate upwards, ascending, largest leaves, 5-12 x 1-1.4 mm, oblong, apex subacute, base slightly narrowed, margins entire, revolute, thickened, sometimes uniting to produce a leaf broadly elliptic in transverse section, under surface plane, otherwise under surface channelled between the thick margins, venation invisible, indumentum variable, ranging from almost glabrous to coarse broad-based hairs up to c. 0.2 mm long nearly confined to margins, to hairs up to 0.3-0.5 mm long scattered on both surfaces, glandular-punctate as well. Inflorescence a crowded terminal spike c. 30-40 x 10-12 mm in flower, either solitary or a few in a congested corymb. Bract adnate to whole of calyx tube, lowermost 4-5.5 x 0.7-1.2 mm, linear-lanceolate, acute, thick-textured, inner face plane, hairs up to 0.3-0.9 mm long on margins and backs together with minute glands, these also present an inner face. Pedicels wanting. Calyx 2.7-3.2 mm long, campanulate, subequally 5-lobed at least halfway to base, lobes narrowly triangular, very acute, acute hairs 0.25-1 mm long on margins and all over outer surface, minutely glandular as well. Corolla tube 5.4-7.5 mm long, narrowly funnel-shaped, limb 4.5-8 mm across lateral lobes, posticous lobes 1.6-3 x 0.8-1.6 mm, anticous lobe 2.2-4 x 1-1.7 mm, oblong-elliptic, white, outside of corolla puberulous. Stamens: posticous filaments 1.5-2 mm long, anthers in mouth or very shortly exerted; anticous filaments 2-3.2 mm long, anthers exerted. Stigma and style c. 5-9.5 mm long, style pubescent. Ovary c. 0.8 x 0.7 mm, apex pubescent. Cocci c. 2 x 1.2 mm, red-brown, smooth, hairs often persisting at apex. It flowers in spring.