Clutia ericoides Thunb.

Perennial dwarf shrub or herb, 0.15-0.60 m high; branches stoutish; twigs spreading, puberulous. Leaves sessile, coriaceous, opaque, erect, subimbricate, shining, quite glabrous; linear-lanceolate, base cuneate, apex acute, margins involute, convex below and concave above. Male flowers in pairs; pedicels shorter than calyx, puberulous; sepals oblong or ovate, obtuse, with large 1-3-lobate basal gland; petals cuneate-obovate, clawed, with solitary small gland, rudimentary ovary short, rounded, glabrous. Female flowers solitary from perulate (pouch-or wallet-shaped) axillary swellings, scales many; sepals narrower and larger than male; petals as in male but eglandular; ovary glabrous; styles free, 2-partite. Flowering time Mar.-June. Fruit a subglobose capsule, smooth. Seeds black and shining.