Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Shrubs to trees 4–8 meters tall.

Stems: Stems stellate pubescent apically, otherwise glabrous.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Alternate. Blades narrowly elliptic to elliptic, sometimes oblong–elliptic to ovate or obovate, 3–7(–10) cm long, 1.5–3.5(–5) cm wide. Apex acuminate or sometimes acute. Base cuneate or obtuse. Upper surfaces glabrous; lower surfaces glabrate, blades green, shiny. Margins entire or serrate toward apex. Petioles 0.5–1.5(–2.5) cm long, pubescent in an adaxial line. Stipules subulate to linear, 4–11 mm long.

Flowers: Flowers solitary, borne near the ends of the branches, pedicels 1.5-2.5 cm long, articulate; involucral bracts (5)6, linear-subulate to subulate, 6-13 mm long, 1-2(-3) mm wide. Flowers bisexual (perfect). Calyx pale green, tubular to suburceolate, 1.5–2.2(–2.5) cm long, lobes 5-lobed or 5-parted, deltate, 0.3–0.5 cm long, surface smooth, sparsely stellulate pubescent. Corolla actinomorphic to moderately zygomorphic, corolla of 5 petals, abruptly flaring, dark red, narrowly obovate to strap–shaped, 4.5–6 cm long, 11.8 cm wide, distinct from each other but adnate at base to staminal column, lower surface usually densely pubescent. Stamens 5 to numerous, monadelphous, forming a staminal column, staminal column exserted, pinkish above, white below; filaments clustered below apex of staminal column, red, 0.3-0.6 cm long; anthers monothecal. Pollen globose, echinate.

Fruit: Loculicidally dehiscent capsules; pale brown; oblong-obovoid; enclosed by the calyx;1.2-1.4 cm long; puberulent; exocarp and endocarp sometimes separating at maturity. Seeds brownish black; obovoid–reniform; 4–4.5 mm long; sparsely pubescent with stellate simple hairs; with or without endosperm.

Ploidy: 2n = 84*

Habitat: Dry forest.

Elevation Range: 230–350 m.