Pimelea hirta C.J.Burrows

A robust, much-branched procumbent to decumbent shrub with stems up to 40 cm long. Branching sympodial and lateral. Young stems brown, with a moderately dense cover of long, dull-white hairs; internodes 1–3 mm long. Older stems glabrous, dark brown to black. Node buttresses lunate, 0.2 mm long, smooth, brown, masked by hairs on young stems, not very prominent on leafless stems. Leaves decussate, ascending and loosely imbricate to patent, on short, dark red petioles (0.3 mm). Lamina medium green, elliptic to broad–elliptic, or broad–ovate or oblong (6–9 × 2.5–5 mm) slightly adaxially concave to keeled, mid-vein evident, sunken adaxially; tip acute; base cuneate; abaxial surface moderately sparsely covered by dull white, relatively long, straight (rarely curled) hairs; stomata on both adaxial and abaxial leaf surfaces. Inflorescences terminal, loose, 4–7-flowered. Involucral bracts 4, similar in size to ordinary leaves or larger (6 × 3 mm). Receptacle moderately densely hairy. Plants gynodioecious. Flowers white on short (0.8 mm) pedicels, very hairy outside, inside hairless. ♀ tube 5 mm long, ovary portion wrinkled, 2 mm, calyx lobes 1.9 × 1.1 mm; ♀ tube 6 mm long, ovary portion 2 mm, calyx lobes 2.8 × 2 mm. Anther dehiscence introrse. Ovary with a few short hairs at summit. Fruits red, ovoid, fleshy 4 × 2.7 mm. Seeds ovoid, 3.5 × 2 mm, crest thin.

[Reproduced from Burrows (2011, New Zealand J. Bot. 49: 41–106) with permission from The Royal Society of New Zealand.]