Wooleya

Moderately branched sprawling shrubs, up to 200 mm high; young branches and leaves ash-grey to purplish becoming grey-brown; woody stems up to 10 mm in diameter; roots fibrous. Leaves opposite, fused towards base, erect or spreading, obscurely 3-angled to cylindrical with upper surface slightly flattened, lower surface convex, blunt, up to 35 mm long, 9 mm in diameter, appearing as if dusted with powder, ash-grey to purplish, keels and margins reduced to red lines and tip ending in a point. Flowers solitary, terminal, shortly pedicellate, bracteate; opening in morning, closing in evening. Sepals 4, unequal, outer ones rounded and inner ones without membranous margins. Petals free towards base, white. Stamens papillose in basal part; staminodes gathered in a cone around stamens. Nectary consisting of a series of small teeth in a continuous ring. Ovary concave around margin, conical in centre above; placentas parietal; stigmas 11 or 12, subulate. Fruit a 11- or 12-locular capsule of Lampranthus type, woody, reddish at first, convex on top; valves with spreading wings; expanding keels parallel at base, diverging slightly towards apex; covering membranes small, not covering entire locule; closing bodies 0. Seeds smooth. F lowering March to August in habitat. D istinguishing characters: robust sprawling plants with leaves seemingly dusted with flour (hence the specific name farinosa = floury); flowers solitary, white; fruit 11- or 12-locular.