Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Shrubs or shrubby trees 1–3 m tall.

Stems: Branches spreading, leafy toward apex, glabrous or yellowish brown pubescent on new growth and inflorescences, densely glandular punctate throughout, wood somewhat brittle, with a pepsin-like odor when freshly broken.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Opposite. Blades obovate to broadly spatulate, 14–40 cm long, 4.5–18.5 cm wide. Apex rounded to subacute. Base narrowly cuneate, abruptly rounded to subtruncate or subauriculate at juncture to petiole. Upper surfaces glabrous; lower surfaces sparsely puberulent when young, glandular punctate. Margins entire. Midrib sulcate on upper surface. Petioles 0–6 mm long, sparsely hispidulous. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers 1–3(–5?) in axillary cymes, peduncles 0–14 mm long, pedicels 8–20 mm long, bracts ovate, 1–2 mm long. Flowers bisexual (perfect), actinomorphic. Calyx of 4 sepals, in imbricated pairs, ovate, 8–9 mm long, 6–7 mm wide, subpersistent, densely puberulent, sparsely so on inner face. Corolla of 4 petals, white or cream, slightly imbricate, oblong, 16–20 mm long. Stamens 8; filaments white, nearly completely connate into a staminal tube; anthers dithecal, subsessile on lobes of staminal tube, elongate, base subhastate, alternately larger and smaller. Ovary superior, 4-carpellate, 4-lobed, the carpels connate adaxially throughout their length, placentation axile; ovules 5–8 per carpel, pendulous on short, broad funiculi; style subclavate; stigmas linear erect, connate, slightly thickened apically.

Fruit: Fruit subglobose; 20–30 mm in diameter; 4–lobed; minutely puberulent; carpels erect; connate throughout; separating at various places during development; apex rounded. Seeds 5–8 per cell; funicles short; endocarp glabrous; embryo with thin; broad; rounded cotyledons; hypocotyl very short; embedded in white endosperm.

Ploidy:

Habitat: Wet forests.

Elevation Range: 820–1,080 m.