Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Glabrous trees with milky sap 8–15 m tall.

Stems: Thick branches, and conspicuous lenticels.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Alternate. Blades broadly elliptic to obovate to suborbicular, rarely broadly oblanceolate, blades 9.2–13(–23) cm long, 4.5–7.7(–10.5) cm wide. Apex acute to rounded. Surfaces dark green and shiny on upper surface; lower surfaces paler and dull, often brittle. Margins revolute or flat. Lateral veins conspicuous, arising at nearly right angles to the midrib. Petioles (1.5–)2.3–4.5(–5.5) cm long. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers in congested, terminal, simple or compound cymes, becoming lateral by prolongation of axis. Flowers bisexual (perfect). Calyx 5-lobed, the lobes very broadly elliptic, imbricate, margins ciliate. Corolla salverform, 5-lobed, the tube cylindrical, the lobes pale yellow, narrowly oblanceolate. corolla tube 7–9 mm long, the lobes ca. 2 mm long. Stamens 5, inserted on the corolla tube just below the mouth but not exserted. Ovary superior, 2, distinct; ovules 2 per ovary, pendulous; styles and stigmas solitary, uniting the ovaries.

Fruit: Fruit drupaceous; bright red at maturity; firm and fleshy; obovoid to ellipsoid; usually only 1 of the ovaries maturing; the endocarp woody; boat–shaped with the central and lateral wings or ridges prominent; 3–15 mm high; these often fenestrated; occasionally the central wings reduced. Seeds 1 per ovary; filling the endocarp.

Ploidy:

Habitat: Scattered and uncommon in valleys and on slopes in diverse mesic forest.

Elevation Range: 215–730 m.