Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Shrubs 0.5–2.5 m tall.

Stems: Stems angled, many-branched or sometimes few–branched, sparsely to densely appressed short–hispid, rarely glabrate.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Opposite. Blades oblanceolate to elliptic, 4–15 cm long, 2.3–5.5 cm wide. Apex short-acuminate, sometimes abruptly so. Base cuneate. Upper surfaces glabrous; lower surfaces appressed short–hispid along the conspicuously raised veins, sometimes hairs scattered over surface; leaves thin, coriaceous. Margins very slightly revolute, at least when dry. Upper surface with veins impressed. Petioles (0.7–)1–2.3 cm long, short–hispid. Stipules interpetiolar, may also be intrapetiolar, membranous, connate into a cup 6–9 mm long, weakly adnate to petioles only at base, quickly splitting, then caducous, short–hispid at base.

Flowers: Flowers in inflorescences terminal, flowers 7–18(–30) in sessile cymes, pedicels 1.5–9 mm long, elongating to 8–12(–15) mm long in fruit, densely short–hispidulous, more sparsely so in fruit, bracts and bracteoles linear–spatulate to linear, 4.8–9 mm long, ± with a few scattered hairs. Flowers bisexual (perfect) or functionally unisexual, actinomorphic. Calyx 5-merous, lobes unequal, sepals united at base, oblong–lanceolate with an obtuse or acute apex, sometimes oblong–spatulate with a short–attenuate or acute apex, 5–7 mm long, 1.8–2.5 mm wide, imbricate, only midvein conspicuous, sparsely to densely short–hispidulous, especially toward base, inner surface of calyx often with colleters at the base, margin mostly fimbriate. Corolla 5-merous, campanulate to rotate, yellow to yellowish orange, 9.4–14 mm long, the tube slightly flaring toward mouth, 4.5–8 mm long, glabrous to sparsely short–hispidulous, the lobes narrowly deltate, 3.5–6 mm long, apex acute, sparsely white hirsute on the tube within and on lower part of lobes; lobes imbricate or contorted in bud. Stamens 5, alternipetalous, attached to mouth of corolla, exserted, usually recurved after anthesis, glabrous or hairy; filaments mostly short; anthers 2-celled, introrse, connective often extended to form an apical appendage, opening by longitudinal slits. Ovary superior or partly inferior, sparsely puberulent or with just a few scattered hairs, 2– or 3-locular, sometimes partitions imperfect in upper part of ovary; ovules numerous, amphitropous, placentation axile; style terminal, mostly short; stigma clavate, ellipsoid, to globular, sometimes ± oblong, about as large as ovary.

Fruit: Capsules broadly ovoid to ovoid–ellipsoid; 12–20 mm long; 8–11 mm in diameter; 2(–4)–valved; valves conspicuously keeled in upper part; keel 1–2.5 mm wide; continuous with the broad beak 1.5–3.5 mm long; septicidal to sub–septifragal; maturing to green; with or without a black–purple tinge; usually becoming brown–black when over–mature. Seeds ± winged at both ends or all around; embedded in juicy orange to red pulp; numerous; obovoid–ellipsoid; 1.1–1.3 mm long; reticulate; intruded on the hilar side; surface mostly minutely papillose to areolate; brown; endosperm oily; proteinaceous with saccharose or hemicellulose; embryo small; straight.

Ploidy:

Habitat: Occurring in wet forest; East Maui.

Elevation Range: 910–1,910 m.