Shrubs or small trees, evergreen, 1-8 m tall; branches angled to terete, puberulent to glabrescent, often lenticellate, with bark usually grayish to reddish brown. Leaves decussate; petiole 3-12 mm, glabrous to densely puberulent; blade drying papery to stiffly papery, narrowly elliptic, elliptic-oblong, lanceolate, or oblanceolate, 6-18 × 2.3-6 cm, adaxially glabrous, abaxially sparsely to densely puberulent on veins to throughout, base acute to cuneate or obtuse, apex acute to acuminate with tip usually ultimately blunt; secondary veins 6-12 pairs, usually with foveolate and/or pilosulous domatia; stipules caducous, in outline ovate, 4-5 mm, glabrous, deeply bifid, lobes narrowly triangular, acute, erect to spreading. Inflorescences densely puberulent; peduncles 2-5 cm, with bracts ca. 2 mm; flowering heads borne separately on axillary or sometimes apically paired peduncles and/or often in cymes of 3 or 5, 6.5-7 mm in diam. across calyces, 10-11 mm in diam. across corollas; bracteoles linear to linear-clavate, 1-2 mm. Calyx puberulent to glabrescent; ovary portion obconic, 0.5-1 mm, surrounded at base by a pilosulous ring; limb deeply lobed; lobes narrowly spatulate, ca. 1 mm, with apex cucullate to thickened. Corolla white, narrowly funnelform, outside puberulent to glabrous; tube 2-3 mm; lobes ovate, 1-1.5 mm, subacute. Stigma globose to obovoid, ca. 0.2 mm, exserted for 3-5 mm. Fruiting heads 8-9 mm in diam. Capsules obcuneate, 2-2.5 mm, pilosulous at apex to glabrescent in lower portions, with persistent calyx lobes (on persistent septum) 1.2-2 mm; seeds 1.2-2 mm. Fl. Jun, fr. Jul-Nov or rarely into Jan.
Home