Hypericum aciferum (Greuter) N. Robson

Shrublet c. 0.05-0.06 m tall, much branched, prostrate to ascending, elongate, tortuous, distally ascending and bearing short erect to ascending clustered flowering shoots, forming mats over 600 mm in diam; wholly glabrous, without dark glands. Stems 2-lined at first, soon terete, densely glaucous, with internodes shorter than leaves. Leaves free, sessile, persistent until second season; lamina 5-12 x 0.6-1.4 mm, narrowly linear-spathulate, aciform, concolorous, densely glaucous, coriaceous, apex acute to subacute, margin plane or incurved or lamina subtriquetrous, base narrowly cuneate; venation: 1-nerved, with midrib subprominent beneath; laminar glands distally dense or all scattered. Inflorescence ( 1 )2-3-flowered, terminal and terminating short axillary shoots; bracts foliar, bracteoles linear-acicular, deciduous; peduncle c. 2 mm long, pedicels 1-2 mm long. Flowers c. 8 mm in diam.; buds narrowly ovoid, acute. Sepals green, 3-3.5 x 1 mm, imbricate, equal, narrowly oblong or narrowly oblong-lanceolate to linear, obtuse, plane to subincurved, suberect; veins 5, only midrib sometimes prominent, unbranched; laminar glands linear, submarginal glands rather sparse. Petals bright yellow, deciduous, c. 7.5 x 1.5 mm, c. 2.5 x sepals, oblanceolate, apically outcurved to form very short-lipped pseudo-tubular corolla, rounded, with basal ligulate appendage linear, acute. Stamens 9 (i.e. 3 fascicles of 3), with filaments in each fascicle almost completely united, the longest 3.5-4.5 mm (long-styled) or c. 1.5 mm (short-styled), persistent (? or tardily decicuous). Fasciclodes (lodicules) 0.3 mm long, truncate. Ovary 1.5 x 1 mm, ovoid, acute; styles c. 3 mm (long- styled) or scarcely 0.5 mm (short-styled), 2 x ovary (long-styled) or 0.33 x ovary (short-styled), suberect; ovules 2 on each placenta, one ascending, one pendent. Capsule c. 4 x 2 mm, narrowly ovoid, longer than sepals, with valves longitudinally vittate. Seeds not seen.