Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Small trees 5–11 m tall, young parts pale brown tomentose–strigose.

Stems: Branches glabrate.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Alternate. Blades oblong–obovate to broadly obovate, (9–)21–31 cm long, (3–)7–9.5 cm wide. Apex obtuse to rounded, rarely short-acuminate. Base attenuate to cuneate. Upper surfaces with slightly impressed veins, glabrate; lower surfaces with slightly raised veins, gray or whitish flocculose–strigose, sometimes eventually subglabrate; Blades subcoriaceous. Margins entire, slightly revolute. Lateral veins 8–16 pairs. Petioles 1.5–5 cm long. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers in inflorescences pale brown tomentose–strigose. peduncles 4–30 mm long, pedicels 3–9 mm long, bracts subulate to narrowly lanceolate, 9–17 mm long. Flowers unisexual, 8–20 in axillary or terminal, simple, borynibose, umbellate inflorescences. Calyx narrowly cup shaped, forming a coherent tube ca, ½ as long as petals, sepals 5, distinct, broadly ovate or obovate, 5–8 mm long, densely pale brown or gray tomentose externally, minutely pale brown tomentulose within, apex abruptly subtruncate or occasionally abruptly subacute. Corolla of 5 petals, cream, 14–18 mm long. Stamens 5, alternate with the petals, distinct; filaments ca. 8 mm long, those of pistillate flowers ca. 3 mm long; fertile anthers 3–3.5 mm long, those of pistillate flowers ca. 2 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 oblong–ovoid; 17–19 mm long; densely whitish; gray; or pale brown tomentose when immature; glabrate at maturity; the persistent style ca. 4–5 mm long; the valves with coriaceous exocarp 1.5–2 mm thick; the surface shallowly rugose; seed mass filling the capsules volume. Seeds ca.20; black to reddish black; ovoid to irregularly angled and compressed; 5–7 mm long.

Ploidy:

Habitat: Disturbed hala forest and mesic valleys.

Elevation Range: 150–550 m.