Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Small trees 3–8 m tall, young parts densely pale brown tomentose.

Stems: Branches usually glabrate.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Alternate. Blades oblanceolate to obovate or oblong–obovate, 9–26 cm long, 2–7 cm wide. Apex acute or occasionally short-acuminate. Base attenuate. Upper surfaces with somewhat prominent and impressed lateral and tertiary veins, glabrate; lower surfaces with slightly raised veins, densely pale brown or rarely whitish tomentose, sometimes glabrate; blades subcoriaceous. Margins entire, somewhat revolute. Lateral veins 15–22 pairs. Petioles 1–3(–5) cm long. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers 9–12 in cauline or axillary, simple, corymbose inflorescences. Inflorescences densely pale brown tomentose. Peduncles 15–20 mm long, bracts subulate, 1.3–10 mm long. Flowers unisexual (and the plants dioecious), pedicels ca. 1–2 mm long. Calyx cup-shaped, sepals 5, distinct or 2 of them basally connate, 2.2–4.5 mm long, densely pale brown tomentose, margins ciliate. Corolla of 5 petals, cream, 13–16 mm long. Stamens 5, alternate with the petals, distinct; filaments 7–9 mm long, those of pistillate flowers ca. 3.5 mm long; fertile anthers 2.2–2.8 mm long, those of pistillate flowers ca. 1–1.5 mm long. Ovary superior, 2(3)-carpellate, 2–3-celled, on a short gynophore, placentation parietal; ovules numerous, in 2 rows per placenta; style 1; stigma capitate.

Fruit: Capsules cuboid to slightly compressed oblong–obovoid; (28–)30–30 mm long; usually brown tomentose; ± eventually glabrate; apex subemarginate to emarginate; the usually persistent style ca. 2–5 mm long; the valves with woody exocarp 3–9 mm thick; with a shallow median furrow; the surface smooth to finely rugulose–roughened; seed mass not filling upper ¼ of capsules volume. Seeds ca. 40–45; black to reddish black; reniform to irregularly angled; compressed; 7–10 mm long.

Ploidy:

Habitat: Mesic to wet forest.

Elevation Range: 380–1,070 m.