Spatalla nubicola Rourke

An erect, rounded, fairly stout and woody shrub, 1-1.5 m tall, main stem stout, branching at 15 cm from ground level. Branches erect, older branches covered with rough scars of the leaf bases. Leaves acicular terete, mucronate, thinly pilose when young, soon glabrous, 10-15 mm long. Inflorescence terminal, sessile, a densely flowered cylindric raceme, 3-4 cm long, 1-1.5 cm wide. Involucres one flowered, sessile. Bracts linear lanceolate, incurved, villous, 7 mm long. The three anticous bracteoles of the lower lip, lanceolate acute, reddish, sericeous, fused in their lower third. Posticous bracteole free, lanceolate acute, sericeous, margins ciliate. Bracteoles 5 mm long. Perianth straight in bud, but curved forwards in the limb region, 11 mm long, the four segments more or less equal. Perianth claws narrow, curved outwards, carmine in live state, villous. Perianth limbs ovate, covered with a dense indumentum of long straight silvery hairs. Perianth tube glabrous, becoming slightly pubescent at the top, 5 mm long. Anthers ovate, 1 mm long, apical boss rounded, amber, pollen creamy-white. Style 9 mm long, filiform. Pollen presenter oblique, ovoid-capitate, stigmatic groove in a small apical papilla. Ovary ovoid, 1 mm long, puberulus, style arising from the ovary in an oblique position. Hypogynous scales 1 mm long, subulate, hyaline. Fruits ovoid, 5 mm long, with a broadly pedicellate acute base. Flowering commences in September and continues into December. Although the majority of plants that were seen had pink perianths, an occasional albino with a whitish-cream perianth was observed.