Woody liana to 30 m, stems to 15 cm diam., or shrub to 2 m; ‘combretaceous hairs’ (only inside flowers) and peltate scales present. Leaves opposite, chartaceous to subcoriaceous, elliptic, 1.7-10.6 x 0.9-6 cm, apex usually shortly to long acuminate but sometimes acute or obtuse, base cuneate to rounded, without hairs, moderately orange-red-lepidote below, sparsely or very sparsely so above; venation usually eucamptodromous-brochidodromous, sometimes eucamptodromous or brochidodromous, secondary veins 4-8 pairs; petiole 0.4-1 cm long, glabrous, densely to contiguously orange-red-lepidote. Inflorescence unbranched, stout, in opposite pairs in leaf-axils, 5-18 cm long, usually aggregated into terminal racemes up to 56 cm long, at lower nodes in axils of normal leaves (usually fallen by fruiting, often by flowering), at upper nodes usually without or with much reduced subtending leaves, glabrous, densely to contiguously orange-red-lepidote; flowers borne densely around rhachis but in nature all swept up to vertical position from ± horizontal rhachis, with long exserted stamens forming 'bottle-brush' syndrome. Flowers, 4-merous, 8.5-11.5 mm long, without hairs on outside; lower hypanthium 3-3.5 mm long, 4-angled, pedicel-like region 0.5-1 mm long, contiguously orange-red-lepidote, upper hypanthium 5.5-8 x 3.5-5 mm, narrowly infundibuliform region below disk, 2-3 mm long and abruptly demarcated deeply cupuliform region above disk, 2.5-3.5 mm long, excl. calyx lobes, moderately to densely orange-red-lepidote; calyx lobes erect, 1-1.6 mm long, apex acute, moderately to densely orange-red-lepidote; petals 4, elliptic to suborbicular, 1.1-1.5 x 0.7-1 mm, usually falling short of calyx lobes but sometimes reaching ca. to their apex, apex obtuse to acute, sometimes apiculate, base without a claw, glabrous; stamens 8, far exserted, filaments 11.5-14.5 mm long; disk densely pubescent at margin with straight hairs, distinct free margin 0.5-1 mm long; style 14-19.5 mm long, exserted ca. as far as stamens, glabrous; ovules 3-5. Fruit moderately to densely orange-red-lepidote especially on body, 1.2-2.8 x 1.1-2.2 cm, oblong-elliptic or elliptic to broadly so, apex rounded or retuse and sometimes apiculate, base rounded to truncate or slightly retuse, very distinct narrow pseudostipe 0.2-0.5 cm long, wings 4, 0.4-0.7 cm wide Scales ca. 70-175 µm diam., marginal cells ca. 20-45.
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