suffruticose at the base, quite glabrous; stems simple, erect, leafy below, naked upwards; leaves opposite or subopposite, shortly petiolate, 1–2 in. long, 1/4– 1/2 in. broad, oblong-lanceolate, obtuse or subacute, shortly mucronulate, attenuated at the base, flat, subfleshy; midrib prominent beneath; petiole 3–5 lin. long; spikes 1 1/4–2 3/4 in. long, 1/2– 5/8 in. broad, obtuse, usually simple, but sometimes with a short branch at the base; flowers yellowish; bracteoles slightly shorter than the sepals, oblong, slightly mucronulate, woolly; perianth reaching 4 lin. long; sepals subequal, narrowly lanceolate, acute, not mucronate, 3-nerved, clothed with yellowish wool; filaments 1 1/4 lin. long; staminodes small, ovate; ovary villous, shortly horned; style 2 lin. long, slender; stigma capitate; capsule ovoid, villous; seed doubled on itself, the folded seed rather less than 1 lin. in diam., subglobose, scarcely compressed, smooth, red. null
