Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Compact or sometimes openly branched shrubs 0.3–2 m tall.

Stems: Stems angled, many-branched, moderately short–hispid.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Opposite. Blades elliptic–oblanceolate to obovate or broadly elliptic–obovate, 1.4–4(–7) cm long, 1–2(–3.8) cm wide. Apex rounded or sometimes short-acuminate. Base narrowly to broadly cuneate. Upper surfaces glabrous; lower surfaces sparsely to moderately short–hispidulous along veins; pale green on lower surface, firm, blades subcoriaceous, strongly or sometimes weakly concave, strongly to moderately rugose. Margins irregularly revolute when dry. Upper surface with veins strongly or sometimes moderately impressed, lower surface with veins slightly raised. Petioles 0.3–0.8(–1.2) cm long. Stipules interpetiolar, may also be intrapetiolar, membranous, connate into a cup 1.8–2.5 mm long, adnate to petioles at base, short–hispidulous, at least at base, bases persistent.

Flowers: Flowers in inflorescences terminal, flowers 3–12 in subsessile cymes, pedicels 2–4 mm long, elongating to 4–6 mm long in fruit, short–hispidulous, bracts and bracteoles linear–filiform to filiform, 1.8–4 mm long, glabrous. Flowers bisexual (perfect) or functionally unisexual, actinomorphic. Calyx 5-merous, sepals united at base, calyx lobes unequal, linear–lanceolate to narrowly deltate, 3–6.5 mm long, 0.4–1.2 mm wide, imbricate, veins obscure, glabrous or sometimes sparsely short–hirtellous at base, inner surface of Calyx often with colleters at the base, margins hyaline, occasionally ciliate. Corolla 5-merous, yellow, 8.5–15 mm long, campanulate to rotate, the tube slightly flaring, 5.5–10 mm long, glabrous, the lobes narrowly deltate, 3–5 mm long, apex acute, white hirsute on the tube within and on lower part of lobes, lobes imbricate or contorted in bud. Stamens 5, alternipetalous, attached to mouth of corolla, exserted, usually recurved after anthesis, glabrous or hairy; filaments mostly short; anthers 2-celled, introrse, connective often extended to form an apical appendage, opening by longitudinal slits. Ovary superior or partly inferior, glabrous or with a few scattered hairs, 2– or 3-locular, sometimes partitions imperfect in upper part of ovary; ovules numerous, amphitropous, placentation axile; style terminal, mostly short; stigma clavate, ellipsoid, to globular, sometimes ± oblong, about as large as ovary.

Fruit: Capsules ovoid to ovoid–ellipsoid; 9–15 mm long; 8–10 mm in diameter; 2(3)–valved; valves conspicuously keeled in upper part; keel 0.8–1.2 mm wide; continuous with the broad to narrow beak 0.2–1.8 mm long; septicidal to sub–septifragal; maturing to green; with or without a black–purple tinge; usually becoming brown–black when over–mature. Seeds ± winged at both ends or all around; embedded in juicy orange to red pulp; numerous; ellipsoid to subglobular; intruded on the hilar side; surface mostly minutely papillose to areolate; brown ; ca. 1.8 mm long; reticulate; endosperm ; oily; proteinaceous; with saccharose or hemicellulose; embryo small; straight.

Ploidy:

Habitat: Occurring in wet forest and shrubby bog hummocks.

Elevation Range: 1,220–1,560 m.