A graceful unarmed obconical shrub 1–5 m. tall, the branches diverging from near the base and curving slightly outwards.. Bark brown with narrow longitudinal cracks and elliptic-oblong transverse lenticels.. Twigs brown, shortly appressed pubescent.. Stipules triangular-subulate, brown, appressed pubescent, persistent, 1–2 mm. long; leaf-rhachis green, becoming brownish with age, broadly channelled above, up to 15 cm. long, including the 1–1.5 cm. petiole; leaflets opposite, subopposite or alternate on petiolules 1 mm. long, often inrolled under dry conditions, 20–50 in number, narrowly oblong, up to 23 mm. long and 5 mm. wide, entire, emarginate, dark green and glabrous above, pale green and puberulous on the midrib and margins beneath; midrib impressed above, prominent beneath; secondary venation irregularly reticulate, translucent in life; terminal leaflet cuneate-oblong, more deeply emarginate.. Flowers on axillary short shoots 1–2 cm. long hanging singly in the axils of one or more of the 2–4 bracts, which each consist of 2 stipules ± 4 mm. long adnate for most of their length to the 6 mm. long central portion, which may or may not end in 1 or 3 leaflets 5–10 mm. long; peduncle 4–7 mm. long, separated by an ebracteate joint from the 16–20 mm. long pedicel.. Hypanthium (receptacle) obconical, ± 5 mm. deep and 5 mm. wide, greenish-yellow and glandular within.. Calyx persistent, campanulate; tube ± 10 mm. long and 15 mm. wide, with 10 main nerves and fainter reticulate secondary nerves between; teeth all alike, triangular, acute, ± 10 mm. long, valvate in the bud, purplish-green and sparsely appressed pubescent outside.. Petals narrowly cuneate-obovate, ± 30 mm. long and 14 mm. wide, caducous, glabrous, with ± 7 forking nerves diverging from the base, cream when the flower opens, later wine-red, variously imbricate; of several flowers on one plant some may have 2 exterior and 2 interior petals, others one of each; the adaxial petal is difficult to determine and rarely external.. Filaments borne on the rim of the receptacle, glabrous, crimson, curved slightly inwards, ± 21 mm. long, 2 mm. wide at the base which is knobbed internally, 0.7 mm. wide at the apex; anthers 3 mm. long.. Ovary pale green, glabrous, ± 12 mm. long, borne on a 10 mm. stipe attached near the base of the adaxial side of the hypanthium; style tapering, 5 mm. long; ovules 11–12, transverse.. Pod straight, or slightly curved, brown, 12–13 cm. long, 11–13 mm. wide, tapering gradually at the base to a 16 mm. long stipe, and more abruptly at the apex to a 9 mm. beak (persistent style); valves twisting on dehiscence.. Seeds obliquely transverse, smooth, reddish-brown, elliptic, ± 8 mm. long, 5 mm. wide, 2 mm. thick, with the white persistent funicle attached near one end to an elliptic hilum 1 mm. long; lens in the middle of the same edge as the hilum.. Fig. 4.
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