Combretum gillettianum Liben

Straggling shrub or small tree up to 4 m.; branches nearly at right-angles, glabrous.. Leaves opposite; lamina papyraceous to chartaceous or subcoriaceous, narrowly elliptic, 2.5–5 cm. long, 1–2 cm. wide, acute or obtuse, rounded or emarginate at the base, glabrous except for some indumentum on the nerves when young and tufts of hairs in the axils of the lateral nerves beneath, conspicuously lepidote when young but inconspicuously so when mature; lateral nerves 3–6 pairs; petiole l–2(–3.5) mm. long, puberulous.. Inflorescence of short, 1 cm. long, subcapitate spikes in the axils of the young leaves or forming a short panicle by suppression of the upper leaves.. Flowers (fig. 3/8, p. 14) yellowish or yellow-green.. Lower receptacle 2–2.5 mm. long, tomentellous; upper receptacle cupuliform, 3.5–4(–4.5) mm. long, 3–4 mm. wide, appressed pubescent, often with 4 tomentellous nerves running up into the sepals.. Sepals triangular.. Petals obtriangular to obovate or subcircular, 1.3 mm. long, 1 mm. wide, glabrous.. Stamen-filaments 3.5–4 mm. long; anthers 1–1.2 mm. long.. Disk with a pilose margin free for ± 1 mm.. Style 1.5–2 mm. long, somewhat swollen at the apex and apparently considerably expanded for a short period.. Fruit (fig. 4/8, p. 15) oval to suborbicular in outline, 3–4 cm. long, 2.5–3 cm. wide, tomentellous when young, not conspicuously lepidote, apex somewhat emarginate; apical peg short, up to 0.6 mm.; wings 9–12 mm. wide, decurrent at the base in the 1.2–2 cm. long slender stipe.. Scales (fig. 1/8, p. 12) 35–60(–70) μ in diameter, with 8–12 marginal cells.