Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Shrubs.

Stems: Stems 0.5–2(–3) m long, glabrous to pilose or glabrate, flowering branches 1–15 mm in diameter.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Opposite, distichous. Blades elliptic to ovate or obovate, (9–)15–40(–65) mm long, (4–)7–15(–25) mm wide. Apex acute to rounded, retuse, occasionally mucronulate. Base rounded, oblique. Surfaces glabrous to pilose at basal margin. Margins entire. Petioles 1–3 mm long, glabrous to pilose above. Stipules acute–triangular, 0.5–1.5(–2) mm long, erose, ciliate.

Flowers: Flowers in cyathia solitary in the leaf axils or 3–10 in cymes on shortened branches, peduncles 0.5–2 mm long, glabrous to pilose. involucre campanulate, 1.5–2.5 mm high, 1.5–3.5 mm wide, glabrous to pilose or villous beneath the glands, glands 4, green to red or purple, glabrous to pilose below. 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 red to yellow, bifid ½ or more their length, 0.3–1 mm long, glabrous or pubescent; stigmas not thickened.

Fruit: Capsules green to red; 1.5–3 mm long; glabrous to slightly pilose on sutures; glabrate; gynophores recurved; exserted 2–3 mm from involucre; ± pilose. Seeds gray to brown; (1.2–)1.5–2 mm long; rugose.

Ploidy: 2n = ca. 38* (both vars.)

Habitat: Open; dry to wet forest.

Elevation Range: 200–500 m.