Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Small or medium-sized trees ca. 3–7 m tall, new growth densely yellowish or yellowish white tomentose and with a waxy scurf.

Stems:

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Opposite. Blades ovate–elliptic, oblong–ovate, or broadly oblong–elliptic; 4–23 cm long, 2–9.5 cm wide. Apex acute to obtuse and usually mucronulate. Base weakly cordate or rounded. Upper surfaces glabrous; lower surfaces sparsely to moderately puberulent, more densely so along midrib, sometimes becoming sparsely so with age;, with a strong anise odor, coriaceous; upper surfaces dark and glossy; lower surfaces paler with reddish brown veins. Margins entire. Lateral veins usually 10–18 pairs, prominent on lower surface, slightly ascending, connected by a slightly arched vein usually 2–7 mm from margin, venation pinnate, lateral veins connected by an arched submarginal vein, higher order venation forming a reticulate pattern. Petioles stout, 10–35 mm long, usually puberulent. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers 4–9 in cymes, puberulent throughout, peduncles 15–95 mm long, pedicels 5– 12 mm long, bracts small, opposite. Calyx of 4 sepals; sepals imbricate, staminate flowers with sepals ovate, ca. 5 mm long, puberulent, pistillate flowers with sepals ovate, ca. 4 mm long, puberulent. Corolla of 4 petals, valvate; staminate flowers petals deltate–ovate, ca. 8 mm long, puberulent externally, glabrous within, pistillate flowers petals pinkish, deltate–ovate, ca.7 mm long, 4–5 mm wide, puberulent externally, glabrous within. Stamens 8, in 2 whorls, distinct, reduced but always present in functionally pistillate flowers, pistillate flowers with stamens rudimentary. Ovary superior (pistillate flowers), carpels connate, only slightly distinct at apex to almost entirely distinct, densely yellowish pubescent, on a slightly paler, puberulent nectary disk; ovules 2 per cell, hemitropous, 1 ascending; style 1, terminating in 4 short stigmatic branches, ; style ca. 3.5 mm long, hirtellous. 4-celled and 4-lobed; staminate flowers ovary and nectary disk reduced, puberulent; style short hirtellous.

Fruit: Capsules green; 20–35 mm wide; carpels connate ⅓–½ their length; 9– 17 mm long; reflexed after dehiscence; exocarp puberulent; endocarp densely puberulent. the carpels dehiscing along the upper suture. Seeds 1–2 per carpel; ca. 6–8 mm long. glossy black when ripe; crustaceous; ovoid; sometimes angled from compression; embryo straight in fleshy endosperm; radicle short; cotyledons compressed; ovate; putamen brown; warty.

Ploidy:

Habitat: Occurring in mesic forest and perhaps wet forest.

Elevation Range: 520–860 m.