Cuphea hyssopifolia Kunth

Small, dense shrub to c. 50 cm high, much-branched. Stems purplish, angled when young, densely and minutely puberulent as well as having much longer, purple, antrorse hairs. Lvs subsessile or with petiole < 1 mm long. Lamina 7–25 × 2–5 mm, linear to narrow-elliptic, with short, appressed, antrorse hairs on veins below, otherwise glabrous; margins entire, slightly revolute; base rounded; apex obtuse. Fls interpetiolar, usually 1 to each pair of upper lvs; pedicels 3–6 mm long, with short antrorse hairs. Calyx tube 5–6 mm long, 12-nerved; upper part hairy within; base gibbous on posterior side; lobes c. 0.5 mm long, broadly triangular. Petals 6, each 3–4 mm long, broad-elliptic, magenta. Filaments densely hairy. Style 1.2–1.5 mm long at anthesis, ± puberulent. Seed flattened, 1.2–1.5 mm diam., broad-ellipsoid to suborbicular, papillate, keeled on one face.

[From: Webb et al. (1988) Flora of New Zealand. Volume 4.]

Flowering: Jan.–Apr.