Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Trees or rarely shrubs up to 15 m tall.

Stems: Young branches 2–4 mm in diameter toward apex, glabrous except above stipule scars.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Opposite. Blades elliptic to obovate, (1.5–)3–15 cm long, (1–)4–5.5(–8) cm wide. Apex acute to obtuse. Base acute to long–attenuate. Surfaces usually glabrous, domatia somewhat elevated, porate, subglabrous, often scattered over blade, or sometimes absent chartaceous to subcoriaceous. Margins entire. Secondary veins 7–10 on each side of midrib, often reddish pellucid. Petioles (5–)10–25(–50) mm long, sometimes winged distally, glabrous. Stipules ovate to lanceolate, strongly imbricate in bud, 7–22 mm long, 4–9 mm wide, acute to acuminate, upper surface villous toward base, lower surface glabrous or slightly pubescent toward apex.

Flowers: Flowers staminate and perfect (1–)3–7 in cymes, peduncles (22–)30–120 mm long, up to 1-2(–3) mm wide, often strongly compressed, usually erect; pistillate flowers solitary or 3 in cymes, peduncles (22–)30–60(–100) mm long, up to 2(–3) mm wide, often compressed, erect. bracts and bracteoles inconspicuous. Flowers insect-pollinated, bisexual (perfect) or functionally unisexual, 4(5)-merous, often heterostylous. Calyx limb persistent in fruit. Staminate and perfect flowers: calyx limb funnelform to tubular, truncate to broadly 2-lobed and boat-shaped, 1–5 mm long, usually glabrous; Pistillate flowers: Calyx limb as in staminate flowers. Corolla greenish to yellowish or sometimes white. Staminate and perfect flowers corolla salverform, the tube (5–)7.5–10(–12) mm long, 1.5–2.5 mm wide, glabrous externally, pubescent toward base within, the lobes 4–5mm long, 2.5–4 mm wide, obtuse to rounded; Pistillate flowers: corolla funnelform to salverform, the tube 6–9 mm long, 1.5–3 mm wide. Nectary disk usually present. Staminate and perfect flowers; anthers sessile in corolla throat, 3–5 mm long, up to 0.8 mm wide; Pistillate flowers staminodia ca.2.5 mm long; anthers dithecal, opening by longitudinal slits. Ovary inferior, occasionally partly so, or very rarely superior. Staminate and perfect flowers: abortive ovary up to 4 mm long, 2–celled (or 4–celled in perfect flowers?); style subterete, up to 5 mm long, glabrous; stigmas 2, linear, up to 1.5 mm long; Pistillate flowers ovary globose, ca. 2.5 mm long, (6–)8–12–celled; style 6.5–9.5 mm long; stigmas 8–12, linear, unequal, 0.5–2.5 mm long, exserted, lobed or capitate, dry or occasionally wet.

Fruit: Fruit drupaceous; depressed subglobose or often laterally compressed; 6–20 mm in diameter; pyrenes (2–)8–12; thick–walled; 1–seeded. Seeds without endosperm.

Ploidy:

Habitat: Mesic valleys and mesic to wet forest.

Elevation Range: 250–1100 m.