Robust climber up to 14 m tall, twining to the right, or a scrambler, occasionally a lax, scandent tree, deciduous or semi-deciduous; bark ± smooth, greyish. Young branches pale greenish, becoming darker, densely tomentose with whitish to translucent indumentum. Second year branches pale brownish with first-formed bark showing slight longitudinal peeling. Leaves opposite, drooping, pale green and densely covered with whitish or greyish indumentum on both surfaces when young, becoming glabrescent to almost glabrous except along midrib with age, first leaves in spring often partly and temporarily yellowish pale on both surfaces but reddish above; lamina narrowly elliptic to lanceolate, (20-)25-75(-90) mm x (10-)15-30(-35) mm, base rounded to slightly cuneate, sometimes with tiny lobes, apex acute, sometimes apiculate or mucronate with mucro up to 1 mm long, margin ciliate; venation with midrib slightly sunken above towards base and generally remaining rather hairy, principal lateral veins usually opposite, 5-8 pairs; petiole 4(-5) mm long, persistently tomentose. Inflorescences few-flowered, of short axillary spikes (10-)12-20(-25) mm long; peduncle and rachis yellowish to pale green, glabrous; bracts linear, ± 1 mm long, caducous; flowers distributed along spikes from 0.5 to 0.8 mm above base and more densely grouped apically. Flowers 4-merous, cream-coloured. Lower hypanthium ± 2-3 x 1 mm, sparsely tomentose to glabrous, glutinous; upper hypanthium ± 2-3 mm wide, visibly divided into lower ± tubular part containing disc and expanded ± cupuliform upper part, slightly pubescent, scales sometimes visible and producing glutinous secretions. Sepals ± deltate, ± 1 mm long. Petals narrowly obovate, oblanceolate or elliptic, ± 2.5 x 1.5 mm, with scattered marginal hairs apically. Stamens 8, ± 1-seriate, inserted shortly above margin of disc; filaments ± 2-4 mm long; anthers ± 0.9 mm long. Disc free for ± 0.5 mm, glabrous with margin pilose and reddish. Style ± 5 mm long. Fruit a samara, (3)4-winged, broadly elliptic, circular to subcircular in outline,11-22 x 16-24 mm, green when young, turning brownish when mature; apical peg ± 0.2 mm long or absent; wings 7-10 mm wide; stipe 3-7 mm long. Scales conspicuous on lower surface of leaf, often concealed by glutinous secretions in young leaves, absent or very rarely present above, usually 45-55 æm in diam., ± circular, 8-celled with 8 primary radial walls only, margin slightly undulate. Cotyledons 2, epigeal, first young leaves covered with long white hairs. Flowering recorded between October and December, but evidently commencing earlier in some cases as ripe fruits observed from October to March.
Home