Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Subshrubs up to 1 m tall.

Stems: Young branches quadrate, ridged or narrowly winged on angles, densely covered with spreading, gland–tipped hairs.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Opposite, decussate. Blades ovate to oblong–ovate, 1–2(–7) cm long, 0.4–2.5 cm wide, sessile or subsessile. Apex acute. Base rounded. Surfaces sparsely to moderately glandular hirtellous. Margins serrulate. (3–)5-veined. Short-petiolate. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers bisexual (perfect), solitary, axillary, occasionally in simple cymes, bracts absent. Hypanthium covered with spreading, simple, gland–tipped hairs; fruiting hypanthium 5– 6 mm long including the constricted distal neck, 3.5–5 mm wide. Calyx lobes subulate, persistent, 3–4 mm long, ca. 1 mm wide at base. Corolla of 5 petals, obovate, pink, 7–8 mm long, 3–5 mm wide. Stamens 10, dimorphic; anthers abruptly constricted at apex into a short tubular rostrum, opening by a pore, larger anthers pink to purplish, 2–2,5 mm long, connective prolonged 2–3 mm below anther sacs and modified ventrally at filament insertion into an erect appendage, appendage 1–1.5 mm long, smaller anthers yellow, 1.5 mm long, connective prolonged ca. 1 mm, appendage 0.25–0.5 mm long. Ovary inferior, distinct, 5-celled, glabrous; ovules numerous, placentation axile; style simple; stigma terminal.

Fruit: Capsules enclosed by the hypanthium. Seeds ca. 0.5 mm long; endosperm absent.

Ploidy:

Habitat: Pastures.

Elevation Range: ca. 305 m.