Barleria hochstetteri Nees

Gebel Elba.

Southeast Egypt, Sudan, tropical east Africa, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Arabia.

Stony wadis and hillsides.

Perennial.

A small, basally woody, unarmed, much branched, up to 35 cm shrublet with greyish-pubescent twigs. Leaves on (3-) 5-12 mm long petioles; lamina oblong, 2-3.5 (-4) cm x 8-12 mm, both surfaces covered with appressed silky-white hairs, base tapering, margins entire, obtuse. Flowers pedicellate, to 2.5 cm long, solitary or in threes at the top of short, peduncle-like branches, purplish or lilac; pedicel up to 12 mm long, glandular-pubescent; bracts linear, 2-3 mm long, not spinescent. Calyx deeply 4-lobed, outer 2-lobes large, green, leafy, glandular-pubescent, ovate, 7-12 mm long, 5-7 mm broad, inner 2-lobes small, white, lanceolate, 5-6 mm long, pubescent. Corolla glabrous, lobes oblong-obovate, ± emarginate. Ovary hairy, c. 3 mm long, style c. 5 mm long. Capsule ovoid, 9-10 mm long, pubescent, beaked, 2-seeded. Seeds ± orbicular, c. 3-4 mm in diam., hairy, brownish-black.

Distribution: E. Tropical Africa, Arabia, Iran, Pakistan (Baluchistan, Sind) S.W. India (Rajasthan).

Fl. Per.: April-November.