Root-climber. Branchlets drying brown (to blackish). Leafy twigs 1-3 mm thick, solid, sparsely to rather densely minutely whitish to brownish puberulous to subtomentose. Leaves distichous; oblong to elliptic to subobovate to obovate to falcate (to lanceolate or to suborbicular), (0.5-)1-12 by (0.2-)0.5-7.5 cm, ± asymmetric or symmetric, coriaceous, apex rounded to obtuse or to shortly and bluntly acuminate, minutely retuse, initially with hairs in the notch, base inequilateral to equilateral, if inequilateral, then the broad side rounded to subauriculate, the narrow side obtuse to cuneate, if equilateral, then both sides (sub)cuneate, margin entire, ± revolute (at least towards the base); upper surface glabrous, lower surface sparsely puberulous to substrigillose to glabrous on the main veins, sparsely minutely puberulous on the rims of the (small) areoles; cystoliths only beneath; midrib (almost) flat to slightly prominent (or slightly impressed), lateral veins 3-6 pairs, the basal pair up to 1/6-1/3 the length of the lamina, unbranched, other lateral veins often furcate far from the margin, tertiary venation reticulate, the smaller veins (almost) flat beneath, the areoles foveolate; waxy gland 1, in the axil of the basal lateral vein at the broad side of inequilateral laminas, or 2, in the axils of both basal lateral veins of equilateral laminas, or absent; petiole (0.1-)0.5-1.5(-2) cm long, puberulous, the epidermis flaking off; stipules 0.2-1.5 cm long, minutely appressed-puberulous, subpersistent or caducous. Figs ramiflorous to cauliflorous on up to 10 cm long leafless branchlets with short internodes, solitary, sessile or with a peduncle up to 2 cm long; basal bracts 3-5 mm long, persistent; receptacle subglobose to pyriform to ellipsoid, (1.5-)3-5(-10) cm diam. when dry, if pyriform to ellipsoid, then up to 8 cm long, when fresh 4-8(-15) cm diam., 0.4-1.5(-2.5) cm long stipitate, brown puberu-lous (at least on the lower part of the receptacle and on the stipe) to velutinous or sparsely (whitish) puberulous to subglabrous, yellowish to orange to pinkish to scarlet to black at maturity, apex ± umbonate, 3-5 mm diam., prominent to flat, often surrounded by 3-5 stiff bracts pointing upwards; internal hairs abundant. Tepals red. Stamen 1.
Home