Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Small trees, 3–4 m tall.

Stems: Trunk 3–7 cm diameter at base, bark grayish brown mottled white or dark brown, stems terete (cylindrical), lateral branches dichotomously branched, younger stems densely tomentose, older stems glabrate.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Opposite. Blades elliptic–ovate, the juvenile leaves elliptic–lanceolate, (5.52)7.5–12(216) 3 (1.82)3–5.5(27) cm, chartaceous, membranous. Apex acuminate and slightly falcate. Base deeply cordate to auriculate. Upper surfaces medium green; lower surfaces pale green, young leaves densely tomentose, at maturity upper surface hirsute to puberulent; lower surfaces densely tomentose. Margins entire. Pinnately veined. Petioles (1.32)1.9–3.7 cm long. Stipules interpetiolar, hirsute to tomentose, completely connate, forming a truncate sheath 1.5–2 mm long, usually splitting with age, adnate to the petiole at base.

Flowers: Flowers in inflorescence terminal, open corymbiform cyme, flowers 3– 11 in pistillate individuals and 15–34 in staminate plants, peduncles puberulent, weakly recurved, 20–42 mm long, elongating to 60 mm in fruit, pedicels puberulent, 13–32 mm long, elongating to 40 mm in fruit, bracts and bracteoles linear subulate, 1.4–2.4 mm long, 0.4 mm wide. Flowers functionally unisexual, plants dioecious. Calyx lobes 5–6, connate near base, imbricate, ovate–deltate, puberulent, apex acuminate, 2.0–2.7 mm long, 0.9–1.3 mm wide, 5 to 7 nerved, inner surface of Calyx often with colleters at the base, margin hyaline. Corolla narrowly urceolate, 5–6 lobed, green, fleshy, puberulent; staminate flowers 11.5– 15 mm long, the tube 10–13 mm long, 1.1–1.8 mm wide, pilose within, the lobes reflexed at anthesis, deltate–ovate, 1.4–1.7 mm long, apex acuminate to acute; reduced female ovary of male flower hirtellous; pistillate flowers not seen. Stamens 5–6 (in staminate flowers) adnate to corolla tube, dorsifixed, slightly exerted; filaments mostly short; anthers 2-celled, introrse, connective often extended to form an apical appendage, opening by longitudinal slits. Ovary superior; pistillate flowers not seen.

Fruit: Capsules green; brown at maturity; lanceoloid to ovoid; 25–37 mm long; 2–valved; valves longitudinally striate; not keeled; apex with beak; septicidal to sub–septifragal; 3.5 mm long. Seeds ± winged at both ends or all around; embedded in juicy orange to red pulp; numerous; ellipsoid to ovoid–ellipsoid; unisulcate; 2.0–3.0 mm long; 1.2–1.5 mm wide; surface mostly minutely papillose to areolate; brown to black; endosperm thick; fleshy; oily; proteinaceous; with saccharose or hemicellulose; embryo small; straight.

Ploidy:

Habitat: Montane mixed mesic forest.

Elevation Range: ca. 1,160 m.