Selago verna Hilliard

Dwarf woody shrublet c. 200-750 mm tall, virgately well branched, twiggy, old bare inflorescence axes persistent, subspinescent, old parts of branches bare, bark greyish to blackish, young parts puberulous, hairs up to 0.1-0.2 mm long, mostly recurved, closely leafy. leaves opposite, alternate upwards, strongly fascicled, spreading, largest primary leaves 2.5-8 x 1.1-1.5(-2) mm, narrowly elliptic, oblong-elliptic, or occasionally oblanceolate, apex obtuse, base slightly narrowed then abruptly expanded and half clasping, margins entire, thickened, revolute, texture moderately thick, venation invisible or just visible on lower surface, hairs up to 0.1 mm long scattered all over or dense, to 0.3 mm on margins at clasping base, together with very minute globular glands; axillary leaves similar. Inflorescence a narrow terminal panicle c. 30-90 x 15-20 mm (sometimes compounded, then much larger) composed of glomerules c. 5-6 x 6-7 mm in flower, the terminal one longer, glomerules either ± sessile or on short leafy peduncles. Bract adnate to pedicel and half calyx tube, lowermost 2.2-3.5(-4) x 1-1.3 mm, elliptic or ovate-elliptic, hairs up to 0.15-0.25 mm long on margins, 0.1-0.2 mm on back together with minute scattered globular glands. Pedicel 0-0.4 mm long. Calyx 1.8-2.5 mm long, obliquely campanulate, 5-lobed roughly halfway to base, two anticous lobes much broader than other three, deltoid, hairs on margins up to 0.15-0.3 mm long, outside 0.1-0.2 mm long, recurved, together with minute globular glands. Corolla tube 3-4 mm long, broadly funnel-shaped, limb 3.2-5.2 mm across lateral lobes, posticous lobes 1.1-2 x 0.8-1.3 mm or sometimes lip undivided or shallowly notched, anticous lobe (1.5-)2-2.4 x 1-1.7 mm, all lobes elliptic-oblong, shades of mauve or varying to white. Stamens: posticous filaments 1.5-2.8 mm long, anticous filaments 1.8-3 mm, all anthers far exerted. Stigma and style c. 3-5.2 mm long, style glabrous or occasionally a few tiny hairs. Ovary c. 0.6 x 0.5 mm. Cocci (only young ones seen) c. 1.9-2 x 1-1.1 mm, yellow-or red-brown, probably slightly rugulose.