Selago zeyheri Choisy

Suffrutex, stems tufted from a woody taproot, c. 150-500 mm long, stoutest seen 4 mm in diam., decumbent to erect, loosely virgately branched above, old stems bare, rough with persistent leaf bases, young parts pubescent, hairs 0.1-0.2 mm long, retrorse, carried down the stem in 4 longitudinal bands, closely leafy. Leaves opposite, soon alternate upwards, not fascicled, sharply ascending to recurved in upper half, largest 5-12 x 1.2-2.6 mm, elliptic, apex acute or subacute, base slightly narrowed, strongly decurrent, margins entire, plane, texture leathery, midrib raised on lower surface, glandular-punctate, otherwise glabrous or a few short (c. 0.15 mm) hairs on margins, these plentiful on decurrent bases. Inflorescence a ± crowded terminal spike 8-10 mm in diam., elongating to 30-80 mm in fruit then lower flowers becoming distant, either solitary at the tips of long leafy branches or subsidiary spikes developing lower down, old bare inflorescence axes often persistent. Bract adnate to calyx tube, lowermost 4-6 x 1.25-2 mm, lanceolate, acute, base concave, hairs 0.15-0.2 mm long on margins only. Pedicel wanting. Calyx 2.4-3.2 mm long, very deeply 3-lobed, anticolateral lobes 2-2.5 x 1.1-1.2 mm, narrowly triangular, rarely deeply divided, hairs 0.2-0.3 mm long on margins, shorter on keels, globular glands scattered all over, inside very minute globular glands all over. Corolla tube 4-5.8 mm long, funnel-shaped, limb 5-5.5 mm across lateral lobes, posticous lobes 2-2.2 x 1.1-1.4 mm, anticous lobe 3-35 x 1-1.8 mm, all lobes elliptic, shades of violet. Stamens: posticous filaments 1.8-2.5 mm long, anticous filaments 2.5-2.7 mm, all anthers well exerted. Stigma and style 5.5-10 mm long, style glabrous. Ovary c. 0.8 x 0.5 mm. Cocci 1.8-2.2 x 1.1-1.5 mm, reddish-brown, outside ± reticulately wrinkled, seed occupying c. one third of loculus, rest composed of 2 spurious cells. Flowers may be found in any month.