Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Trees 15–18 m tall; glabrous with milky sap.

Stems:

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Whorled (3–4 per node). Blades oblanceolate to elliptic, 6–19 cm long, 2.2–6.5 cm wide. Apex acute to obtuse. Base cuneate. Surfaces glabrous. Margins entire. Lateral veins conspicuous especially on lower surface, arising at nearly right angles to the midrib. Most of the secondary veins anastomosing and conspicuous. Petioles 1.5–2 cm long. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers usually numerous in open inflorescences.Primary peduncles 4.5–6.3 cm long, secondary ones 1.1–2.5 cm long. Flowers bisexual (perfect); subtended by small, opposite, ovate bracts. pedicels 5–7 mm long. Calyx deeply 5-lobed, the lobes ovate, imbricate; 10–11 mm long. Corolla salverform, 5-lobed, the tube cylindrical, the lobes greenish white to white, oblong–elliptic; tube 7–11 mm long, the lobes 12–15 mm long. Stamens 5, inserted on the corolla tube just below the mouth but not exserted. Ovary superior, 2, distinct or basally connate; ovules 2–4 per ovary; style connate in the upper ⅓; stigma bifid.

Fruit: Fruit drupaceous; firm and fleshy; drying hard; usually both ovaries maturing. drupes probably yellowish brown at maturity; smooth; lanceoloid; 4.5–4.9 cm long; 2.4–2.9 cm wide. Seeds 1 per fruit; ovate; strongly flattened.

Ploidy:

Habitat: Known only from mesic forest at Pu‘uwa‘awa‘a; North Kona; and Kīpukapuaulu; Kīlauea.

Elevation Range: ca. 670 m. (Pu‘uwa‘awa‘a) and ca. 1220 m. (Kīpukapuaulu, Hawai‘i)