Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Small glabrous trees 3–10 m tall, with milky sap.

Stems:

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Opposite or whorled. Blades oblong–elliptic, elliptic, or oblanceolate. Margins entire. Lateral veins conspicuous especially on lower surface, arising at nearly right angles to the midrib. Petiolate. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers in subdichotomous compound cymes arising in the leaf axils near the terminal ends of the branches, often only 1 flower opening per day. flowers subtended by small, opposite, ovate bracts. Flowers bisexual (perfect), usually numerous. Calyx deeply 5-lobed, the lobes ovate, imbricate. Corolla salverform, 5-lobed, the tube cylindrical, the lobes greenish white to white, oblong–elliptic. Stamens 5, inserted on the corolla tube just below the mouth but not exserted. Ovary superior, 2, distinct or basally connate; ovules 2–4 per ovary; style connate in the upper ⅓; stigma bifid.

Fruit: Fruit drupaceous; yellow to dark purple at maturity; firm and fleshy; drying hard; usually both ovaries maturing. Seeds 1 per fruit; ovate; strongly flattened.

Ploidy:

Habitat:

Elevation Range: