Shrub to 5 m high, the branchlets puberulous when young, soon glabrous. Leaves shortly petiolate, the petiole up to 4-5 mm long, the stipules narrowly ovate, to 1 cm long, puberulous, early caducous; blade narrowly oblong, somewhat inequilateral, slightly oblique and acute to rounded at the base, long-caudate-acuminate at the apex, closely crenulate-serrulate at the margins, to 12 cm long and 4.3 cm wide, chartaceous, pellucid-punctate or-lineate, the upper surface shining, glabrous or with the slightly prominent costa puberulous, the lower sur-face somewhat paler, dull, puberulous along the venation, the costa and lateral veins prominent. Inflorescences fasciculate,-the fascicles up to 25-flowered, distinctly pedunculate, the peduncles to 4 mm long, minutely puberulous, the bracts minute. Flowers yellow, the pedicels up to 4 mm long, articulated at or slightly below the middle, minutely puberulous especially below the articulation; calyx ca 4-4.5 mm long, the lobes 5, oblong, united at the base into a short, 5-angulate tube less than 1 mm long, rounded and slightly cucullate at the apex, ca 2-2.5 mm wide, minutely puberulous to nearly glabrous on both sides; stamens 10, inserted near the apex of the calyx tube, slightly united at the base among themselves and with the staminodes, the filaments unequal, ca 2-2.3 mm long, glabrous, the anthers didymous, subglobose, ca 0.5 mm long, with a dorsal, apical gland, the latter slightly pilose or not; staminodes 10, interstaminal, to 1.5 mm long, barbate at the apex; gynoecium ca 3.7 mm long, the ovary 3-angular, ca 1-1.2 mm in diam, glabrous but pilose at the apex, gradually attenuate into the style, the latter pilose at the base, otherwise glabrous, the stigma capitate. Capsule ellipsoid-subglobose, angulate, apiculate, ca 4-5 mm long, pilose at the apex, splitting into 3 valves at maturity; seeds up to 6 per capsule, ellipsoid, ca 2 mm long, the testa minutely alveolate, the aril fimbriate-lacerate.
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A tree. It grows 20 m tall.
Abundant and widely distributed along roadsides and in openings, thickets, and forests, in the lower mountain, moist limestone, and moist coastal regions of Puerto Rico. Wet forest or thickets, at or near sea level in Guatemala.
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