Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Small trees 4–11 m tall, young parts pale brown to whitish strigose–tomentose.

Stems: Branches whitish to pale brown flocculose–strigose to glabrate.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Alternate. Blades oblong–elliptic, oblong–oblanceolate, or oblanceolate, (8–)10–30 cm long, (2.3–) 3.5–8(–9) cm wide. Apex obtuse to rounded, occasionally emarginate. Base attenuate. Upper surfaces with slightly impressed veins, glabrous; lower surfaces with slightly raised veins, sparsely to moderately whitish flocculose–strigose, sometimes mature leaves subglabrate; blades, chartaceous or in summit populations coriaceous, not or only slightly rugose. Margins entire, sometimes revolute. Lateral veins 13–20 pairs. Petioles (0.6–)1.5–3.5(–5) cm long. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers in inflorescences pale brown to whitish strigose–tomentose. peduncles ca. 6–16 mm long, pedicels 1–2(–3) mm long, bracts subulate, 5–6 mm long. Flowers unisexual, 6–10 in axillary or cauline, simple, corymbose inflorescences. Calyx narrowly cup-shaped, sepals 5, distinct, ovate, 1.5–2.5 mm long, pale brown tomentulose, apex obtuse. Corolla of 5 petals, white, 11–13 mm long. Stamens not seen. Ovary superior, 2-carpellate, 2–3-celled, on a short gynophore, placentation parietal; ovules numerous, in 2 rows per placenta; style 1; stigma capitate.

Fruit: Capsules ovoid to subcuboid; 20–32 mm long; pale brown tomentose when immature; sparsely whitish tomentose at maturity; apex rounded to obtuse; the persistent style 2–4 mm long; the valves with woody exocarp 3–4 mm thick; with a median furrow; the surface shallowly to deeply rugose–tuberculate; the troughs between the convolutions narrow; sometimes surface merely rugulose; seed mass filling the capsules volume. Seeds ca. 12–20; black; irregularly angled and compressed; 6–8 mm long.

Ploidy:

Habitat: Mesic forest; occasionally on open ridges in wet forest.

Elevation Range: 270–790 m.