S.M.H. Jafri

subsp. heratensi affinis sed suffrutex caulibus lignosis valde ramosis; stylo perbrevi vel fere nullo etiam divergit.

Suffrutex lignosus, glandulosus, ramosissimus , manifeste efoliatus. Folia valde minuta, plerumque unifoliolata, subsessilia; foliola suborbiculata, crassiuscula, glauca, glabra, medianum quam lateralia paulo majus, usque ad 2.5 x 2 mm (? ) . Inflorescentia capitata, in fructu vix elongata. Pedicelli 4-6 mm longi, patentes. Sepala c. 2 mm longa, linearia, apice acuta, glandulosa. Petala c. 3 mm longa, lineari-oblonga, apice obtusa, alba. Stamina 6, androphoro per brevi vix 0.5 mm longo; filamenta usque ad 5 mm longa. Fructus stipite c. 1 mm longo et stylo brevissimo incluso 30-40 mm longis, 1.5 mm latis, linearis, torulosus, horizontaliter patens, glandulosus; semina c. 1 mm diametro, glabra, minute granulata, brunea.

Type: Baluchistan: E-4 Ahmedwal near Nushki, 11.10.34, V. P. Dutta 5 (RAW).

Distribution: Known from the type gathering only.

This subspecies appears to be an undershrub or shrub with woody stem from which many twiggy branches develop during the favourable season. It resembles the type race in fruit characters but the style is either very short or almost absent. General habit, minute leaves and smaller flowers resemble very closely to C. khorassanica Bge. et Bien. but the fruits are longer. However, the stiple and style are more similar to C. khorassanica than C. heratensis. One character is common to all these three taxa and that is their small, suborbicular or obovate leaflet, the median leaflet comparatively larger than the lateral ones. In this new subspecies, the leaflets are so minute and rare that the plant apparently looks almost leafless. Leaflet measurements are doubtfully recorded here due to inadequate specimen.