Spatalla longifolia Knight

An erect, rounded, laxly branched shrub to 0.75 m tall with a single slender main stem. Branches slender, slightly flexuose, villous when young, glabrous later. Bark reddish purple. Stems covered with closely adpressed imbricate leaves. Leaves subterete, flattish on the upper surface, slightly incurved towards the tip, apiculate, sparsely villous on upper surface when young, soon becoming glabrous, 7-12 mm long. Inflorescence single, terminal, sessile, cylindric, up to 3 cm long, 1.5 cm broad, a dense raceme. Involucres sessile, subtended by a membranous, narrowly lanceolate acute bract, villous on the outer surface, carmine when fresh. Involucres 6 mm long, consisting of a distinct upper and lower lip. Anticous lip composed of three bracteoles, fused in their lower two thirds. Lateral bracteoles ovate acute, the median bracteole ovate acute, smaller than the two laterals, with a thick line of hairs extending up the inner surface. Posticous bracteole ovate acute. Outer surface of bracteoles thickly silky villous, reddish carmine when fresh. Perianth 10 mm long, strongly curved in bud. Perianth segments unequal, posticous segment longer and broader than the three anticous segments. Perianth limbs elliptic, densely woolly, posticous limb erect, galeate. Perianth claws sparsely pubescent with short crisped hairs, pubescence decreasing to almost glabrous towards the perianth tube. Inner surface of perianth claws densely pubescent with shaggy crisped hairs. Perianth tube glabrous, 1 mm long. Anthers broadly elliptic, apical boss black, pointed. Style 1 mm long, curved forwards towards apex. Pollen presenter, an obliquely obovate cochleariform disc, pink in fresh state. Ovary ovoid, 1 mm long, slightly pubescent at the apex, otherwise glabrous, style arises obliquely from the ovary. Hypogynous scales linear, 1 mm long, hyaline to white when fresh. Fruits cylindric oblong, 5 mm long, truncate and minutely pedicellate at base, greyish brown, very sparsely puberulous to glabrous. There is a very well defined flowering period, from August to November, which is in contrast to S. curvifolia, a species that flowers continuously throughout the year.