Annual or perennial herb, taproot becoming woody. Stems up to 450 mm tall, either simple or sparingly branched below, sparingly branched above, pubescent with retrorse whitish hairs c. 0.5-1 mm long, minutely glandular as well. Leaves up to c. 15-45 x 2-5 mm, narrowly elliptic to linear-oblong, subacute, scarcely to distinctly narrowed to the base and there with a distinct pulvinus, decurrent in two narrow ridges, obscurely to distinctly serrate in upper part, thick-textured, glandular-punctate, a few coarse white hairs up to c. 1 mm long on lower margins and midrib below, a few tiny glandular hairs as well. Flowers ± sessile, crowded in a dense rounded or somewhat oblong terminal head, often with smaller heads on short simple or branched stems below the main one, heads c. 15-20 x 10-13 mm, elongating slightly in fruit. Bracts sharply differentiated from leaves, adnate to minute pedicel, free from calyx, c. 5-7 x 4-6 mm, broadly ovate to suborbicular, abruptly acute or subacute, margins ciliate with hairs up to 1 mm long, sometimes minute glandular hairs as well, a few minute glands on lower backs, otherwise glabrous. Calyx tube c. 1 mm long, lobes c. 1.4 x 0.7 mm, the posticous one often longer and narrower, glandular-puberulous all over, margins ciliate with delicate hairs up to 0.7 mm long. Corolla tube c. 3.5-4 x 2 mm in mouth, sparsely and very minutely glandular-puberulous outside, limb bilabiate, c.6-8 mm across lateral lobes, posticous lobes c. 2.5 x 2-3 mm, anticous lobe c. 34 x 2-2.8 mm, all lobes oblong-elliptic, posticous lip creamy-colour to pale mauve with an orange blotch at base, this thickly clad in clavate hairs, a few hairs extending round mouth, anticous lip shades of mauve. Stamens either 4 or reduced to 2 or 3 by abortion of anticous ones, didynamous, arising about two thirds of the way up the tube, well exserted, filaments c. 2.8-3 mm, posticous pair decurrent to base of tube, anthers c.0.8 mm Stigma nearly as long as style. Style minutely glandular-puberulous. Ovary c. 1.4 x 0.8 mm Capsule c. 2.5-3 x 2 mm Seeds c. 1.5 x 1 mm, very few.
Home