Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Vines.

Stems: Stems often swollen at the nodes, terete (cylindrical), 4–angled or –ridged, few–branched, glabrous, becoming sparsely then moderately glandular–puberulent in the inflorescence, the internodes purple.

Roots: Fibrous root system.

Leaves: Leaves simple. Opposite. Blades narrowly ovate or lanceolate to elliptic–lanceolate, 6.5–11.5 cm long, 2–2.8 cm wide. Blades oblong–elliptic, 7.5–15 cm long, 1.8–4.1 cm wide. Apex acute to acuminate. Apex acute to weakly acuminate. Base leaf bases often connate around the stem, base gradually attenuate. Base leaf bases often connate around the stem. Surfaces light green or yellowish green; upper surfaces slightly glossy, the Lower surfaces glossy, slightly thickened and rubbery, chartaceous when dry, usually slightly undulate, with only the midvein evident or sometimes with an additional pair of inconspicuous, smaller, looping veins. Surfaces weakly glossy, green or yellowish green, sometimes purple–tinged, especially on lower surface; blades weakly coriaceous and rubbery, chartaceous when dry, with only the midvein evident. Margins entire, slightly thickened and weakly revolute, especially toward the base. Margins entire, slightly thickened becoming revolute toward the base. Midvein ± slightly excentric, usually reddish purple. Midvein ± slightly excentric. Petioles 0.5–1.1 cm long, pale green, purple toward the base, weakly± grooved. Petioles 0.8–0.9 cm long, purple, weakly ± grooved. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers in inflorescence terminal, with 40–60 flowers, 20–35 cm long and nearly as wide, diffuse, laterally–directed or pendent, the tertiary and higher level internodes or pedicels weakly spreading; bracts subulate, the lowermost of central axis narrowly elliptic, falcate, green and purple–tinged or purple, the lowermost ones 2–17 mm long, those of branches and flowers 1.5–4.5 mm long, purple, the adaxial surface puberulent; pedicels 13–15 mm long at anthesis, weakly flattened, very weakly angled just below the flower and often with a few hairs. Flowers bisexual (perfect). Sepals 2.2–3 mm long, elongating to 4 mm long in fruit, ovate, green, sometimes purple–tinged toward apex or irregularly purple throughout, opaque, strongly reflexed and convex in the proximal ¼, producing a conspicuous transverse bulge, the distal part broadly navicular, oriented at 5° to 30° angle to the pedicel, abaxial side sparsely puberulent toward the base, the adaxial side puberulent, primarily near the midrib, margins conspicuously scarious, ciliate, apex attenuate, inconspicuously slightly twisted. Corolla (petals) absent. Stamens 10; filaments dimorphic, the antisepalous whorl 7.5 mm long, the alternate whorl 5.3–5.8 mm long; anthers 0.75–0.85 mm long, subequal, pale yellow. Ovary superior, 1-celled; ovule placentation free-central; styles 3.

Fruit: Capsules 3.1–3.5 mm long; ovoid. Seeds ca. 1.3 mm long; orbicular–reniform; compressed; the surface rugose; perisperm starchy; hard or rarely soft; true endosperm absent.

Ploidy:

Habitat: In open areas of diverse mesic forest.

Elevation Range: 395–800 m.
410–570 m.