Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Shrubs or small trees (1.2–)2–8(–15) m tall.

Stems: Stems dichotomously branched, young branches terete (cylindrical) or nearly so, glabrous.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Opposite. Blades elliptic to elliptic–oblanceolate, sometimes narrowly elliptic, oblong–elliptic, or lanceolate, (3.8–)4.5–21 cm long, (1.4–)2–5(–7.3) cm wide. Apex abruptly acuminate to acute. Base narrowly to sometimes broadly cuneate, ± asymmetrical. Surfaces glabrous, medium green, membranous. Margins flat. Veins not impressed on upper surface. Petioles 0.6–2.2(–4) cm long. Stipules interpetiolar, may also be intrapetiolar, completely connate, forming a truncate sheath 1–4 mm long, sometimes splitting somewhat with age, slightly adnate to base of petioles, margins sometimes ciliolate.

Flowers: Flowers in inflorescences terminal, flowers (3–)9–12(–19) in pendulous, open, paniculate cymes, fragrance semen-like, glabrous throughout, peduncles weakly recurved, 9–22 mm long, elongating to 13–25(–35) mm long in fruit, pedicels 8–11 mm long, elongating up to 23 mm long in fruit, bracts and bracteoles subulale, 0.7–1.6 mm long. Flowers bisexual (perfect) or functionally unisexual, actinomorphic. Calyx 5-merous, lobes connate slightly to ca. ½ their length, imbricate, ovate–deltate, 1.5–3 mm long, 0.7–1.6 mm wide, inner surface of calyx often with colleters at the base, margins hyaline, ± ciliolate. Corolla 5-merous, pale yellowish green or greenish yellow, narrowly urceolate, 6.5–19 mm long, the tube 5.5–7.8 mm long, sparsely white pilose within, the lobes imbricate or contorted in bud, deltate–ovate or ovate, 1.7–2.3 mm long, apex short-acuminate to rounded. 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, glabrate, 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 broadly ovoid to subglobose–ovoid or ellipsoid–ovoid; 8–17 mm long; 2(3)–valved; septicidal to sub–septifragal; valves transversely wrinkled; not keeled; apex with a beak 0.5–1.5 mm long; 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; endosperm thick; fleshy; oily; proteinaceous; with saccharose or hemicellulose; embryo small; straight.

Ploidy:

Habitat: Occurring on ridges; slopes; or in the understory of open canopy; mesic to wet forest.

Elevation Range: 300–920 m.