Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Shrubs or small trees 2–10(–20) m tall.

Stems: Young branches, petioles, and pedicels glabrous or finely stellate pubescent.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Alternate. Blades cordate–ovate to cordate–orbicular, 8–20(–30) cm long, unlobed. Apex abruptly acuminate. Upper surfaces green, glossy, and subglarous; lower surfaces closely white tomentose, leaf blades coriaceous. Margins entire or serrulate. Median veins or 3 central veins on lower surface with an elongate, bordered gland near base. Petioles usually ¼–¾ as long as blades, glabrous or finely stellate pubescent. Stipules foliaceous, 10–60 mm long, enclosing the buds, clasping the stems in pairs, then deciduous leaving an annular scar.

Flowers: Flowers solitary or few in naked cymes; peduncles and pedicels articulate, pedicels glabrous or finely stellate pubescent; involucral bracts connate basally to form a 7–12 toothed cup usually ½ or less the length of the calyx, closely and smoothly stellate pubescent. Flowers bisexual (perfect). Calyx campanulate to tubular or subuceolate, 1.5–3 cm long, composed of connate sepals, lobed to middle and beyond, 5-lobed or 5-parted, often accrescent in fruit, midvein of each lobe with a flat, elongate gland, lobes valvate in bud. Corolla actinomorphic to moderately zygomorphic, yellow, rarely whitish when fresh, usually brownish red to maroon at base, fading during the day through orangish yellow to dark red, drying greenish, convolute, basically tubular below with petals spreading above 4–7(–8.5) cm long; lower surface usually densely pubescent, the corolla of 5 petals, obovate, distinct from each other but adnate at base to staminal column, convolute in bud. Stamens 5 to numerous, monadelphous, forming a staminal column, included, closely antheriferous for most of its length; anthers monothecal. Pollen globose, echinate. Ovary superior, 5-celled or rarely appearing 10-celled by a vertical partition, the carpels borne in a single whorl or rarely seemingly superposed whorls, placentation axile; ovules 3 or more per cell; style exceeding the staminal column, 5-branched, branches erect, maroon; stigmas expanded and slightly decurrent.

Fruit: Loculicidally dehiscent capsules; olong–ovoid; short–beaked; 1.3–2;8 cm long; valves firm; moderately woody; closely yellowish stellate pubescent; exocarp and endocarp sometimes separating at maturity. Seeds reddish brown; reniform; up to 4.5 mm long; striate with minute papillae or stellate tufts.

Ploidy: 2n = 80; 92; 96

Habitat: Along coasts; mouths of streams; and other wet areas.

Elevation Range: 0–300(–1220) m.