Description
Key Characters:
Growth Form:
Shrubs or rarely small trees to 10 m tall.
Stems:
Branchlets terete (cylindrical) 2-3 mm in diam., sparsely brown scaly when young, finely wrinkled.
Roots:
Leaves:
Leaves simple.
Blade obovate to oblanceolate, 7-14 × 2-4 cm.
Apex broadly to narrowly acute.
Base cuneate.
Upper surfaces dull, glabrous or sometimes minutely brown scaly abaxially. Blades leathery.
Margins entire, usually revolute.
Lateral veins 14-25 on each side of midrib, inconspicuous, marginal vein obscure.
Petioles marginate, 5-10 mm.
Flowers:
Inflorescences axillary, near ends of branches, paniculate, branches subumbellate or cymose, 3-4(-7) cm, glabrous.
Flowers membranous, white, ca. 3 mm. Pedicel ca. 5 mm, brown scaly.
Sepals ovate, 1-1.5 mm, sparsely punctate, margin entire, ciliate, apex acute.
Petals nearly free, broadly ovate, inconspicuously punctate, glabrous, apex acute.
Stamens ca. 3/4 as long as petals; filaments equal to anther length; anthers ovate, prominently black or inconspicuous pellucid punctate dorsally, dehiscent by pores opening into large longitudinal slits, apex apiculate
Ovary superior, pistil ca. as long as petals; ovary glabrous, punctate; ovules numerous, multiseriate.
Fruit:
Fruit globose; red to blackish; ca. 7 mm in diam.; somewhat fleshy.
Ploidy:
2n = 48
Habitat:
Elevation Range: