Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Shrubs or trees 3–6 m tall, new growth yellowish brown appressed hirtellous, branches and petioles glabrate.

Stems:

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Opposite. Blades elliptic–ovate, broadly elliptic, elliptic–obovate, or suborbicular, 4.5–12 cm long, 2.5–8 cm wide. Apex rounded, ± emarginate. Base rounded or subtruncate. Upper surfaces glabrate or midrib with a few persistent hairs; lower surfaces glabrate or very sparsely puberulent, midrib ± moderately puberulent; blades coriaceous. Margins entire. Primary lateral veins usually 10–14 pairs, prominent on lower surface, connected by a moderately arched vein 2–5(–9) mm from margin, venation pinnate, higher order venation forming a reticulate pattern. Petioles stout, 10–42 mm long. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers 3–15 in cymes 2–5 cm long, peduncles 5–15 mm long, sparsely puberulent toward apex, becoming glabrate, pedicels 2–5 mm long, appressed puberulent. Flowers functionally unisexual (and the plants monoecious). Calyx of 4 sepals; Sepals of staminate flowers ovate, 4–5 mm long, densely puberulent, imbricate. Corolla of 4 petals, valvate; petals of staminate flowers deltate, 6–8 mm long, sparsely appressed puberulent near apex, nectary disk and rudimentary ovary appressed short-hirtellous. Stamens 8, in 2 whorls, distinct. Ovary superior; pistillate flowers not seen.

Fruit: Capsules 25–40 mm wide; carpels connate ¼–⅓ their length; 12–20 mm long; ± recurved; exocarp minutely puberulent at least toward base; endocarp puberulent; sometimes more densely so near inner suture. flowers bracts small; opposite. Seeds ca. 6 mm long. Seeds 1–2 per cell; 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: Rare in wet forest.

Elevation Range: 910–1,220 m.