Spatalla colorata Meisn.

An erect sparsely branched shrublet to 0.75 m. Branches very slender when young, rather thin and straggly, almost completely glabrous, reddish. Leaves acicular terete, mucronate, thinly pilose, otherwise glabrous, 7-15 mm long. Inflorescence terminal, single, sessile, rounded to cylindric, up to 1.5 cm long, 1 cm broad. Bracts linear lanceolate, acute, 6 mm long, glabrous to sparsely pilose, margins long ciliate. Involucres single flowered, subsessile, pedicel not exceeding 1 mm in length. Bracteoles narrowly lanceolate acute, 3-4 mm long,outer surface almost glabrous apart from a few scattered hairs, margins long ciliate. Anticous three bracteoles fused in their lower third, posticous bracteole free. Perianth 8-9 mm long, strongly curved in bud, deep carmine when fresh. Perianth segments unequal, posticous claw erect, longer and broader than the three anticous claws. Posticous limb galeate, broader and more densely woolly than the anticous limbs. Perianth limbs elliptic, 1 mm long, densely woolly. Perianth claws villous, becoming twisted on opening. Perianth tube glabrous, 1 mm long. Anthers broadly ovate, apical boss rounded, black. Style filiform, arising obliquely from the ovary, curved forwards at the apex. Pollen presenter, an obliquely obovate cochleariform disc. Ovary ovoid, 1 mm long, minutely puberulus. Hypogynous scales subulate linear, 1 mm long, yellow when fresh. Fruits cylindric ovoid, 4 mm long, slightly emarginate and broadly pedicellate at base. Flowers are produced from July to November.