Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Shrubs.

Stems: Stems up to 20 dm long, tomentulose when young or glabrous and glaucous, covered with stout, hooked prickles 3–7 mm long, their bases usually longitudinally elongated, bark of older stems not shredding.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves compound (pinnate). Alternate. Leaflets 5–9, leaflets elliptic–ovate to elliptic, terminal one often broadly ovate, 2.5–6 cm long, 2–3 cm wide, the terminal one ± lobed on 1 side, and up to 5 cm wide. Upper surfaces glabrous; lower surfaces densely white tomentose. Margins serrate. Petiolate; petiolules 0–0.1 cm long, petioles and rachis usually with curved prickles. Stipules linear-lanceolate, 4–8 mm.

Flowers: Flowers in short, terminal, cymose panicles, densely tomentose and with scattered prickles. Flowers Flowers bisexual (perfect); pedicels 6–12 mm long. Calyx of 5 persistent sepals. Corolla of 5 petals, petals rose purple, broadly obovate to suborbicular, ca. 4–5 mm long. Stamens numerous. Ovary superior, carpels usually numerous, inserted on the raised receptacle, 1-celled; ovules 2 per cell; style filiform, subterminal, persistent.

Fruit: Fruit dark red; becoming reddish black; subglobose; ca. 1 cm long; white tomentulose. Seeds 1 per drupelet.

Ploidy: 2n = 14; 28

Habitat:

Elevation Range: