Lepidagathis medicaginea
Content
Description
Herb, 5-15 cm tall. Stem creeping at base, quadrate, young stem hirsute, especially along angles, becoming glabrescent with age, internodes shorter than leaves. Leaves contracted into a winged petiole up to 3 mm long; blade narrowly elliptic, 1.5-2 x 0.4-0.8 cm, apically obtuse, firm, scabrid along margin, primary vein and secondary veins (3 pairs), glabrescent with age, cystoliths sometimes conspicuously lineolate on upper surface. Inflorescence a terminal, sessile, ovoid spike of ca. 1.2 cm long and 9 mm in diam., rachis not or hardly visible, glabrescent towards apex, lowermost verticillasters subtended by reduced cauline leaves; cymes usually 3-flowered; bracts obovate, 4.3 x 1.8 mm, acuminate and fringed with long cilia at apex, 3-veined; bracteoles lanceolate4 x 0.7 mm, secondary bracteoles narrowly linear, 3.5 mm long, all fringed apically with long cilia. Flowers subsessile; calyx without large, globose glands, lobes ciliate, posterior lobe obovate, 6 x 1.9 mm, ending in an awn of 0.6 mm long, remaining 4 lobes acute, lateral lobes narrowly triangular, 4 x 0.3 mm, with more but shorter cilia, anterior lobes oblanceolate, 5 x 0.2 mm, 2-veined; corolla white with red streaks on lower lip, 4.5 mm long, tube cylindric, 2.6 mm long, throat sparsely villous, upper lip shortly 2-lobed, lobes obtuse, 0.2 mm long, lobes of lower lip obtuse, 0.9 mm long; stamens 4, filaments glabrous, 1.4 and 1.9 mm long respectively, anthers 0.5 mm long, thecae 0.3 mm long, apiculate at base; style glabrous, 3.8 mm long. Capsule 3.2 mm long, pubescent near apex with erect to flexuous, eglandular trichomes; seeds not seen.