Metarungia galpinii stems

Lower stems of Metarungia galpinii may lose their leaves, leaving only small scars on the smooth grey-green surfaces. Young branches are woolly or velvety to densely so.

There are no stipules in the Acanthaceae family, therefore also not on Metarungia (Leistner, (Ed.), 2000; JSTOR; http://pza.sanbi.org).