Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Branched shrubs 1–3 m tall.

Stems: Stems obscurely angled, moderately short–hispid.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Opposite. Blades oblanceolate to elliptic or sometimes obovate, 4–15 cm long, (1.5–)2–4.5 cm wide. Apex acute to bluntly short-acuminate. Base gradually or strongly narrowed to a subtruncate base or base sometimes broadly cuneate. Upper surfaces glabrous; lower surfaces glabrous or sparsely short–hispid, sometimes only along veins; leaves yellowish green to medium green on upper surface; lower surfaces pale green, coriaceous. Margins ± slightly revolute. Upper surface with veins slightly impressed. Petioles 0.2–1 cm long, glabrous. Stipules interpetiolar, may also be intrapetiolar, membranous, connate into a cup (3–)5–14 mm long, adnate in lower ⅓ to petioles, quickly splitting, glabrous or short–hispidulous near base, caducous.

Flowers: Flowers in inflorescences terminal, flowers 3–12 in sessile cymes, pedicels 1–3 mm long, glabrous or sparsely short–hispidulous, bracts linear–spatulate to linear–filiform, 4–11 mm long, glabrous, bracteoles filiform, 3–5 mm long, glabrous. Flowers bisexual (perfect) or functionally unisexual, actinomorphic. Calyx 5-merous, sepals united at base, calyx lobes imbricate, distinctly unequal, spatulate to oblanceolate, the 3 outer ones (4–)6–12 mm long, (0.8–)2–7 mm wide, the 2 inner ones (4–)5–10 mm long, 0.6–4 mm wide, inconspicuously 3–7–nerved, glabrous or sparsely short–hispid, inner surface of calyx often with colleters at the base, margin mostly fimbriate. Corolla 5-merous, campanulate to rotate, pale orange, 9.5–16 mm long, the tube slightly constricted near throat, 6.3–11 mm long, glabrous or sometimes sparsely short–hispidulous, the lobes narrowly deltate, 3.2–6 mm long, apex acute, white short–hirsute on the tube within and on lower part of lobes, lobes imbricate or contorted in bud. 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, carpels hairy or glabrous, 2– or 3-locular, sometimes partitions imperfect in upper part of ovary, ca. 8–10 mm long, glabrous; ovules numerous, amphitropous, placentation axile; style terminal, mostly short; stigma clavate, ellipsoid, to globular, sometimes ± oblong, about as large as ovary.

Fruit: Capsules ovoid–trigonous; 12–14 mm long; 3–valved; septicidal to sub–septifragal; valves keeled in upper part; apex with a beak ca. 3 mm long; maturing to green; with or without a black–purple tinge; usually becoming brown–black when over–mature. Seeds not seen.

Ploidy:

Habitat: Occurring in wet forest.

Elevation Range: 600–860 m.