Spermacoce huillensis (Hiern) R.D.Good

Annual herb (10–)15–30(–70) cm. tall, mostly branched near the base or quite unbranched; stems purplish brown, usually densely covered with spreading white hairs or sometimes only slightly scabrid-pubescent or glabrescent.. Leaf-blades lanceolate or lowermost elliptic, 1.3–2.6(–7) cm. long, 1.8–3.5(–5) mm. wide, acute at the apex, slightly narrowed at the base into the stipule-sheath, slightly shining and with scattered subscabrid hairs or glabrous above, hairy beneath at least on the midrib, margins slightly thickened, revolute; stipule-sheath 2.5–3 mm. long, hairy, with 7 usually reddish brown or purple setae 3–8 mm. long.. Flowers in axillary verticillate congested clusters 0.8–1.3 cm. wide, the terminal cluster made up of the true terminal and 1–2 lower nodes condensed together subtended by 4(–8) leaves; below this compound terminal cluster and well separated is a further cluster subtended by 2–4 leaves and sometimes a third cluster, although sometimes only the terminal one is present; filiform bracteoles 3–6 mm. long.. Calyx-tube ellipsoid, 1.5 mm. long, hairy; lobes 4, linear-lanceolate, 2.5–3 mm. long, often hairy, the margins scabrid-ciliate.. Corolla white, often with bluish or purple marks at the throat in dried material; tube almost filiform beneath, narrowly funnel-shaped above, 5 mm. long, glabrous outside, with an internal ring of hairs at junction of the two parts; lobes elliptic-oblong, 2 mm. long, 0.6 mm. wide, incurved at the apex and tipped with a few long hairs.. Filaments exserted 2 mm.. Style 7.5 mm. long; stigma small.. Capsule ovoid, 3 mm. long, 2.2 mm. wide, spreading pubescent.. Seeds dark chestnut-brown, 1/2-ellipsoid, slightly narrowed to the base, 2.5 mm. long, 1.3 mm. wide, 0.8 mm. thick, slightly rugulose, ventrally deeply grooved.