Leucopogon xerampelinus de Lange, Heenan & M.I.Dawson

Low-growing sprawling subshrub, usually up to 20 cm tall and up to 1 m diam. Branches and branchlets prostrate to decumbent; branchlets c. 1 mm diam., red-brown, with bifarious pubescence or ± glabrous. Leaves spirally arranged, crowded on stems, usually patent, internodes 1.0– 1.5 mm. Lamina narrow lanceolate to narrow elliptic, 10.0–25.0 × 1.5–4.0 mm, rigid, planar, redbrown, coriaceous, glabrous; apex mucronate, flushed red; veins prominent, usually 5–7 main veins, light red-brown, adaxial surface slightly rugose; margins entire, rarely with a few teeth at distal end; petiole 0.5–1.0 mm long, attenuate, pale green to cream. Inflorescences axillary and terminal, racemose, flowers hermaphrodite. Peduncle up to 10 mm long, puberulent, with 4–9 flowers. Pedicel < 0.25 mm long or absent; bracts and bracteoles usually 3, 0.5–1.0 × 0.5–1.5 mm, green with cream margins, broad-obovate to orbicular, obtuse, mucronulate, margins ciliolate. Sepals 5, 1.5–1.7 × 1.0–1.2 mm, green with cream margins, elliptic to ovate, imbricate; apex subacute, sometimes slightly mucronulate; margin ciliolate. Corolla white; tube 1.0–1.2 mm long, c. 1.5 mm diam., inner surface glabrous, although usually hairy at the distal end where it grades into the corolla lobes; lobes 5, spreading to recurved, 1.2–2.0 mm long, narrow triangular, acute to subacute, densely hairy on inner surface. Filament fused to corolla tube along most of its length, free part 0.8–0.9 mm long, glabrous, translucent-white. Anthers brown, 0.6–0.9 × c. 0.3 mm, with a short (0.1–0.2 mm), brown or cream-brown apical appendage. Ovary 0.6 × 0.5 mm, ovoid, green, glabrous; style 0.4–0.5 mm long, attenuate at base; stigma red. Glandular scales five, maroon, 0.3 mm long. Immature fruit c. 3 × c. 2 mm, pink-green, obovate to round, surface with raised membranous ridges. FL Sep–Nov; FT Oct– Apr.

[Reproduced from de Lange et al. (2003, New Zealand J. Bot. 41: 13–21) with permission from The Royal Society of New Zealand.]