Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Shrubby perennial herbs.

Stems: Stems densely antrorsely strigose, becoming hirsute and glandular hirsute toward and throughout the inflorescence (hairs straight or slightly curved, 0.1–0.6 mm long).

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Opposite. Blades ovate to broadly ovate, (15–)19–33 cm long, (6–)7.5–15.3 cm wide. Apex acuminate. Base truncate to rounded or subcordate. Surfaces conspicuously (at least when dry) and usually densely glandular–dotted; upper surfaces appressed long–hirsute; lower surfaces hirsute to antrorsely strigose, densely so along veins; blades rugose. Margins crenate. Petioles (5–)6–13.5 cm long, densely hirtellous. (spreading hairs). Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers (4)6(10) per verticillaster, in leafless, compound, racemose inflorescences usually 10–20 cm long, consisting of the terminal primary stem and numerous secondary and tertiary lateral branches immediately below, hirtellous and sparsely to moderately glandular hirtellous throughout, pedicels 2–5(–6) mm long, glandular hirsute and hirsute, bracts narrowly ovate to elliptic–ovate, 6–9 mm long. Calyx campanulate, 3–6 mm long, enlarging in fruit, nerves conspicuous, hirtellous and sparsely to moderately glandular hirtellous, and glandular–dotted, usually 5-toothed, the teeth narrowly deltate to linear–deltate or linear–elliptic, 1.5–2 mm long, apex attenuate to acute, splitting longitudinally, usually persistent or sometimes only ventral 1/2 persistent. Corolla bilabiate, 10–13 mm long, white, purple–tinged at least on the upper lip, the tube narrowly funnelform, curved, ca. 8–10 mm long, glandular–dotted, short– hirtellous, and glandular hirtellous, especially on the upper side, the upper lip ca. 2–3 mm long, entire or 2-lobed, flat or concave, the lower lip ca. 5–7 mm long., 3-lobed, lateral lobes ovate, slightly asymmetrical, lower lobe broadly ovate to suborbicular, slightly folded to form a groove, margins somewhat undulate, apex emarginate or entire; nectary disk often present at base of ovary, annular or developed on anterior side only. Stamens 4, both pairs of similar length or upper pair slightly longer, ascending the upper corolla lip, included, aligned with the sinuses; filaments inserted near throat, usually pubescent; anthers dithecal, opening by longitudinal slits; anther sacs divaricate. Ovary superior, 2-carpellate, placentation basal-axile; ovules 1 per ovary lobe; style 1, included, arising between lobes, shortly 2-lobed, the lobes clavate; stigmatic only at apex, 1 lobe often rudimentary; stigmas 2.

Fruit: Nutlets ca. 3–6 mm long; 1-seeded; dark green to black; drupaceous; exocarp fleshy; obovoid; margins slightly winged; obliquely attached at the connate base; spreading and exserted from calyx at maturity. Seeds with endosperm absent or scanty and oily.

Ploidy:

Habitat: Occurring in diverse mesic forest.

Elevation Range: 730–825 m.