Selago witbergensis E.Mey.

Dwarf shrublet, stems many tufted from a stout woody stock, 100-350 mm long, prostrate, decumbent or suberect, well branched, young parts puberulous, hairs c. 0.1-0.2 mm long, retrorse, closely leafy. Leaves opposite, soon alternate upwards, fascicled, largest primary leaves 3-15 x 0.8-1.4 mm, elliptic or elliptic-lanceolate, apex acute or subacute, occasionally obtuse, bluntly apiculate, base slightly narrowed, margins entire, plane or revolute (thickened), usually both surfaces puberulous, hairs up to c. 0.1-0.2 mm long, scattered, upper surface occasionally glabrous or hairs nearly confined to margins, glandular-punctate; axillary leaves similar. Inflorescence composed of glomerules (racemes) c. 6-10 x 6-8 mm in flower elongating to c. 15-30 mm in fruit, flowers remaining crowded with only the lowermost few becoming distant, each glomerule terminating a leafy twiglet up to c. l5-40 mm long, these loosely panicled. Bract adnate to pedicel and calyx tube, lowermost 2.8-4.8 x (0.75-)1.1-1.5 mm, elliptic, base concave, apex subacute or acute, hairs up to 0.15-0.3 mm long on margins, usually up to 0.1-0.2 mm on back and upper part of inner face, rarely glabrous on back. Pedicels up to 0.2-0.4 mm long. Calyx 1.5-2 mm long, obliquely campanulate, lobes usually 3 (calyx very rarely irregularly 4-5-lobed), 2 anticolateral lobes longer and much broader than the posticous lobe, all lobes deltoid, subacute, hairs up to 0.15-0.25 mm long on margins, 0.1-0.15 mm outside, either confined to keels or scattered, few globular glands as well. Corolla tube 2.3-3.6 mm long (rarely all flowers female, then much smaller), funnel-shaped, limb 4-5 mm across lateral lobes, posticous lobes 1.4-1.8 x 1-1.2 mm, anticous lobe 2-2.7 x 1-1.7 mm, all lobes elliptic or oblong, shades of violet-blue. Stamens: posticous filaments 1.25-2.2 mm long, anticous filaments 1.8-2.5 mm, all anthers far exerted. Stigma and style 2.5-5 mm long, style usually minutely puberulous. Ovary c. 0.6 x 0.4 mm. Cocci 1.7-2 x 1.25-1.6 mm, yellow-brown, almost smooth, incipient spurious cells present.