Selago rigida Rolfe

Dwarf shrublet c. 200-600 mm tall, rounded, twiggy, old stems stout (c. 5 mm diam.), woody, nude, young branches pubescent, hairs up to 0.2-0.6 mm long, retrorse, sometimes appressed, closely leafy. Leaves opposite or subopposite, soon alternate, fascicled, largest primary leaves 1.5-5 x 0.7-1.3 mm, elliptic or triangular, apex obtuse, base slightly narrowed or not, margins entire, strongly thickened, texture thick (leave elliptic or suborbicular in T.S.), venation invisible, glandular-punctate, glands often oozing, leaves and stem then 'varnished', otherwise glabrous or with few to many scattered hairs up to c. 0.2-0.3 mm long; axillary leaves similar but smaller. Inflorescence a terminal congested spike (lowermost few flowers may be distant) c. 8-20 x 7 mm in flower (not seen in fruit), often solitary, sometimes with up to c. 7 small subsidiary spikes, thus producing a narrow panicle. Bract adnate to pedicel and calyx tube, lowermost 2.7-4 x 1.3-2 mm, ovate or broadly elliptic, subacute, base shallowly concave or plane, back rounded and pouched at base, hairs up to 0.2-0.5 mm long on margins, shorter ones scattered on back, very minutely glandular on inner face. Pedicel up to 0.15-0.7 mm long. Calyx 2-3.5 mm long, campanulate, usually 34obed, occasionally 4-5 lobed, 2 anticolateral lobes much broader than posticous lobe, slightly shorter than or about equalling the tube, all lobes deltoid, ± obtuse, hairs up to 0.2-0.3 mm long on margins, c. 0.1-0.25 mm on outside together with many globular glands. Corolla tube 3-4 mm long, broadly funnel-shaped, limb 3.5-5 mm across lateral lobes, posticous lobes 1.2-2 x 0.7-0.8 mm or posticous lip entire, anticous lobe 1.8-2.4 x 1-1.5 mm (all parts smaller when flowers female), all lobes elliptic-oblong, white or pale mauve. Stamens: posticous filaments 1.5-2.8 mm long, anticous filaments 2-3.5 mm, all anthers well exerted. Stigma and style 2.8-4 mm long, style glabrous or with a few minute hairs or globular glands. Ovary c. 0.8 x 0.7 mm. Cocci not seen.