Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Shrubs or small trees (0.4–)1–8(–9) m tall.

Stems: Stems prostrate to erect, glabrous, flowering branches often nodose, 1–4(–6) mm in diameter.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Opposite, distichous. Blades oblong, obovate, or oblanceolate to elliptic or linear, (4–)10–70(–80) mm long, (3–)5–30(–40) mm wide. Apex acute to obtuse, retuse or mucronulate. Base cuneate to obtuse, oblique. Surfaces glabrous, sometimes glaucous. Margins entire. Petioles (0.5–)1–5(–6) mm long, glabrous to villous. Stipules acute to rounded–triangular, 1–4(–6) mm long, glabrous to villous, erose, ciliate.

Flowers: Flowers in cyathia on compact lateral branches. involucre campanulate, (1–)1.5–3 mm high, 2–4mm wide, glabrous to villous, glands 4–5, green or red, glabrous to pilose. Flowers unisexual and highly reduced. Pistillate flowers solitary, on a gynophore; staminate flowers in 5 groups or cymules, each with 1 to several flowers. Calyx (sepals) absent. Corolla (petals) absent. Male flower reduced to a single stamen, with an articulation at junction of pedicel and filament, subtended by slender bracteoles. Ovary superior; styles yellow, green, or red, bifid less than ½ to more than ½ their length, 0.5–1(–1.5) mm long, glabrous to pubescent; stigma thickened.

Fruit: Capsules green to brown; ovoid to rounded–triangular; (0.5–)2–4 mm long; glabrous to pubescent; gynophores erect; exserted 0.5–1 mm from involucre; glabrous to pubescent. Seeds brown to gray; (0.5–)1–2(–2.5) mm long; tetragonal to obcompressed; smooth to rugose.

Ploidy: 2n = ca. 38*

Habitat: Coastal dry open areas and mesic forest.

Elevation Range: 1–120 m.