Roylea cinerea - Ashy Roylea

Ashy Royleais a pleasantly aromatic shrub, up to 1.8 m tall. Stems, including older woody parts, are densely greyish velvety with a covering of prostrate and some spreading glandular hairs. Leaves are 2-4 x 0.7-3 cm, ovate, toothed to almost lobed, flat or somewhat narrow at the base. Leaf-stalks are up to 8 mm long. Flower-spikes consists of 4-12-flowered, separated clusters on very short peduncles. Bracts are linear-subulate, about 3.5 mm. Flowers stalks are 0.5 mm. Sepal cup is about 1.5 cm, tube about 6-7 mm; sepals nearly equal, elegant, oblong-elliptic narrowed at base, net-veined, 7 x 2 mm, rigid. Sepals scarcely enlarging in fruit. Flowers are white or pink, about 1.3 cm; tube slender straight, about 9 mm, ringed; upper lip is entire, hairy; lower lip 3-lobed, median slightly larger. Nutlets are about 3.5 x 2 mm, flat at the tip. Ashy Roylea is found in the Himalayas, from Kashmir to Nepal, at altitudes of 1200-3700 m. Found flowering in September.