Trees. Hairs stellately tufted and simple. Stipules interpetiolar, caducous. Leaves entire, opposite, petiolate, simple, pinnately nerved. Inflorescence an axillary or terminal cymoid panicle. Bracts present, bracteoles absent. Flowers bisexual, 5-merous, actinomorphic, hypogynous. Sepals basally shortly connate, quincuncially imbricate, subequal, indurate, swollen and persistent in fruit, with stellate hair tufts. Petals free, contorted, caducous, often shortly clawed. Disk extrastaminal. Stamens 10, free, inserted halfway the disk, alternately longer and shorter, the longer epipetalous and the shorter episepalous; anthers dorso-versatile, 2-celled, introrse; connective protruding, acute-triangular. Extrastaminal nectary glands absent. Ovary superior, 2-celled; style 1, apically forked with 2 capitate stigmas; ovules 2 per cell, axile, collateral, pendent, epi-tropous. Fruit a 1-celled capsule, the woody pericarp finally lengthwise splitting into 2 valves. Seed 1, persisting after falling of pericarp and pendulous from the top of a filiform columella; arilloid papillose, surrounding lower half of the seed. Endosperm copious. Embryo straight.
Home