Pimelea microphylla

Detailed description

A small, compact, prostrate to suberect, much-branched shrub forming loose cushions, to 60 mm high and 250 mm diameter, with short, notably sympodial branching. Young branchlets moderately to densely clad in short, grey hair, on strips between glabrous node buttress tissue; internode lengths 0.25–0.6 mm, rarely to 1 mm; older stems sparsely hairy to glabrous, grey-brown to blackish. Narrow node buttresses occupy the length of the internodes and are prominent on leafless stems. Leaves decussate, ascendant, imbricate, and crowded near the ends of branchlets, on very short (0.1–0.3 mm) red petioles, or sessile. Mature leaves glabrous, but almost all plants have some young leaves with a few short hairs at the distal end and young leaves of some individuals are moderately densely hairy, above. Lamina broad-elliptic or broad-ovate, 2.5–3.0 × 1.0–2.0 mm, upper surface concave to slightly keeled, leathery, medium green to yellowish-green; sometimes margins are slightly upturned and red-margined, midvein obscure; obtuse, base cuneate. Stomata on both leaf surfaces. Inflorescences terminal on branchlets, 1–4-flowered; receptacles with short, dense to sparse hair. Involucral bracts 4; 2.5–3.5 × 2–2.5 mm, broad-elliptic to broad-ovate, often with a few hairs at the distal end or sometimes densely hairy below. Plants gynodioecious. Flowers white or sometimes pale red, on very short pedicels (0.1 mm); tube and calyx lobes hairy outside; inside hairless, or with sparse hair in the style portion. Female tube 3.2 mm long, ovary portion 3 mm, calyx lobes 1.3 × 1 mm; hermaphrodite tube 3.2 mm long, ovary portion 1.8 mm, calyx lobes 1.5 × 1.5 mm. Anther filaments inserted just below mouth of tube; anther yellow. Ovary moderately hairy at summit, sparsely hairy elsewhere. Fruits oblate, fleshy, white or sometimes pink, opaque, 5.5 × 4.2 mm. The tube breaks off irregularly as the fruits ripen. Seeds pyriform, surface granulate, thin crest, 3 × 2 mm.