Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Shrubs 0.6–2.5 m tall.

Stems: Stems branched, rounded to angular, pubescent with multicellular hairs or glabrate.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Opposite, borne on upper 3–9 nodes. Those leaves of a pair subequal to unequal, nearly symmetrical, elliptic to elliptic–obovate, (4.5–)11–30 cm long, (1.7–)5–12 cm wide. Apex acuminate. Base attenuate to cuneate, sometimes subtruncate. Upper surfaces sparsely to moderately pilose; lower surfaces moderately to densely velvety pilose, the hairs yellowish brown, blades chartaceous. Margins serrulate or denticulate to subentire and very slightly revolute. Upper surface with veins somewhat impressed or not, lower surface with veins raised. Petioles (0.8–)3–5(–10) cm long. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers solitary in the leaf axils, peduncles 0–6 mm long, pedicels 0–5 mm long, bracts inconspicuous, lanceolate, 6–14 mm long. Flowers bisexual (perfect). Calyx 2–5(6)-lobed, slightly zygomorphic or nearly actinomorphic, tubular–funnelform or urceolate, 14–25 mm long, cleft ca. ¼(–⅔) its length, both surfaces very densely shaggy villous, the lobes linear–subulate to narrowly deltate, ca. 3–10 mm long, deciduous or persistent in fruit. Corolla usually bilabiate, white, tube cylindrical, the tube straight or curved, 14–20 mm long, probably ca. 4–5 mm in diameter, very densely shaggy villous, upper lip 2-lobed, lower lip 3-lobed, the lobes imbricate in bud, upper lobes lanceolate, ca. 3.5–5 mm long, 1.5–3 mm wide, lower lobes lanceolate or ovate, ca. 4–5 mm long, ca. 2–2.5 mm wide. Stamens 5, inserted about halfway up corolla tube, the 2 upper Stamens fertile, others staminodial, +/– with abortive anthers; fertile anthers coherent positioned in throat of corolla tube, dithecal, opening by longitudinal slits or occasionally by apical pores. Ovary superior, glabrous, oblong–ovoid, 2-carpellate, 1-celled, placentation parietal, placentas 2, ± intruded, rarely joined in center and dividing ovary into 2 cells; ovules numerous, anatropous, apex rounded or with a stylar beak; style ca. 3 mm long, glabrous; stigma capitate, 2-lobed, lobes usually elliptic.

Fruit: Fruit a fleshy or firm berry; broadly ovoid–ellipsoid; 1–2 cm long; puberulent; enclosed by the persistent calyx that splits when fruit mature. Seeds numerous; ellipsoid; minute; usually less than ca. 1 mm long; the surface reticulate.

Ploidy:

Habitat: Known from scattered localities in mesic valleys and diverse mesic forest.

Elevation Range: 275–450 m.