Creeping, biennial herbs with prostrate, rooting, branched stems, lateral branches or tufts of leaves arising from bracts at the nodes. Stems slightly succulent, glabrous or subglabrous, with erect ends. Leaves alternate along runners, tufted distally, narrowly elliptic to broadly oblong, petiole 2-8 cm long, sheathing the stem, greyish strigose, lamina up to 6 by 3 cm, but usually much smaller, rounded at base, apex rounded-apic-ulate, with 3-5 lateral nerves on either side paler below, with appressed, white hairs on both sides, denser along the midrib below. Cymes arising from the uppermost leaf axils, with a distinct peduncle, leafy bracteate, flowers crowded towards scorpioid top; bracts elliptic, acute, 5 mm long, 2.5 mm wide; pedicels 3-4 mm long, minutely strigose. Calyx 4 mm long and wide, divided to the middle into 5 ovate-triangular, slightly unequal teeth overlapping towards base, sparsely strigose. Corolla 3.5 mm long, tube about as long as limb, lobes elliptic to shortly obovate, 1.5 mm long; fornices short and broad. Stamens: filaments less than 0.5 mm, anthers 0.75 mm. Pistil: style 1-1.5 mm long, stigma minute. Nutlets pyramidal, dark brown, not seen at maturity.
Home