Description
Key Characters:
Growth Form:
Subdioecious shrubs.
Stems:
Stems often swollen at the nodes, terete (cylindrical), 4–angled or –ridged, weakly erect 1.5–2.5 (–10) dm long, the primary stems branched, weakly erect to ascending, internodes 0.2–0.7 (–1.5) cm long, pale purple, becoming yellowish green sporadically tinged purple in the distal parts of the plant, glabrate proximally, minutely puberulent on the distal stems and inflorescence.
Roots:
Fibrous root system.
Leaves:
Leaves simple.
Opposite.
Blades linear or linear–elliptic or linear–oblanceolate, inconspicuously falcate, 2.5–4 (–5) cm long, 0.15–0.4 (–0.5) cm wide.
Apex acute.
Base leaf bases often connate around the stem, base attenuate.
Surfaces glabrous, recurved, thick and membranous.
Margins inconspicuously thickened.
Only the midvein evident, the midvein slightly excentric.
Sessile.
Stipules absent.
Flowers:
Flowers in inflorescence terminal, with 22–131 flowers, (2–) 4–9 cm long, laterally contracted, lateral branches short, the branches and pedicels ascending to spreading, puberulent with minute glandular hairs 0.02–0.04 mm long; bracts green becoming white toward the base, sometime tinged with purple, filiform to linear–subulate, those of central axis 1.5–10 mm long, those of branches and flowers 1–1.5 mm long. hermaphroditic flowers occurring occasionally intermixed in staminate inflorescences, numbers varying with site and moisture, similar to staminate flowers except ovary and styles functioning.
Populations subdioeceious.
Calyx of staminate flowers with sepals subequal, 2.2–2.8 mm long, narrowly ovate, yellowish green, often tinged purple toward the apex, opaque, reflexed and convex at the base, producing a conspicuous transverse bulge in the lower ⅓, the middle part concave, broadly and shallowly navicular to nearly flat in the distal ⅓, oriented at 60° to 80° angle to the pedicel, glabrous, margins broadly and conspicuously scarious in the upper half, apex rounded, and often weakly lacerate. Pistillate flowers: sepals subequal, 2–2.25 mm long, narrowly ovate, yellowish green, yellow toward the base, opaque, reflexed and convex at the base, producing a small transverse bulge, the middle part concave, curved upward and broadly navicular to nearly flat in the distal ⅓, often irregularly inrolled toward the apex, oriented at 80° to 100° angle to the pedicel, moderately puberulent, the hairs 0.05––0.1 mm long, margins broadly and conspicuously scarious, sometimes ciliate in distal ½, apex obtuse.
Corolla (petals) absent.
Staminate flowers: Stamens 10 (–11), the filaments subequal, 4.9–5 mm long; anthers 0.4–0.5 mm long, pale yellow. Pistillate flowers: Stamens 10 (–11), vestigial, the filaments subequal, 2–3 mm long; anthers ca. 0.3 mm long, yellowish white, not producing pollen.
Ovary superior (pistillate flowers), 1-celled; ovule placentation free-central; styles 3. Staminate flowers: styles 3, weakly elongating but non–functional.
Fruit:
Capsules 2.5–3 mm long; narrowly ovoid.
Seeds 0.6–0.8 mm long; reniform; compressed; the surface transversely rugose; perisperm starchy; hard or rarely soft; true endosperm absent.
Ploidy:
2n = possibly 56*
Habitat:
In scattered sites on open; sunny ridges in diverse mesic forest.
Elevation Range:
400–820 m.