Climbing shrubs, large, deciduous. Young branchlets, petioles, inflorescences, and sepals densely tomentose with milky-white to dirty yellow hairs to appressed-lanate, two-year-old branches ± with relict hairs; pith white, lamellate. Petiole short, 1.5-3 cm, thick; leaf blade abaxially pale green, adaxially green, ovate to broadly ovate, 8-16 × 6-11 cm, papery, abaxially densely white stellate tomentose, adaxially hispid-puberulent when young, glabrous to sparsely pilose only on midvein and lateral veins, midvein and lateral veins conspicuous abaxially, inconspicuous to subconspicuous adaxially, lateral veins 7 or 8 pairs, anastomosing, reticulation with many conspicuous cross-bars, base rounded or truncate to cordulate, margin callose-serrulate, apex acute to shortly acuminate. Inflorescences cymose, 1-3-flowered; peduncles 5-10 mm; pedicels 3-5 mm; bracts subulate, 3-4 mm. Flowers rose-pink, rarely white, 2-3 cm in diam. Sepals 2-3, broadly ovate, 7-9 mm, abaxially densely lacteous-tomentose. Petals 5, ovate or obovate, to 1.5 cm, apex and margin orange, middle and base pink. Filaments 5-7 mm, slender; anthers yellow, oblong, ca. 1 mm. Ovary globose, densely milky-white tomentose; styles 3-4 mm. Fruit cylindric-ovoid, 3.5-4.5 cm, always densely and persistently milky-white tomentose; persistent sepals reflexed. Seeds ca. 2 mm. Fl. May-Jun, fr. Nov. 2n = 58*.
More
A climbing vine. It grows to 10 m long. It loses its leaves during the year. The leaves are pale underneath. Male and female flowers occur on separate plants. The flowers are red. The fruit are up to 3.5 cm long x 3 cm wide. They have white fuzz over the skin. They contain many small seeds.
Home