Home
A shrub or small tree 4 m high. It can be a creeper or vine. Young shoots have brown hairs. The leaves are neatly and closely arranged. They are leathery. The leaf blade is 3-5 cm long by 1-3 cm wide. They are narrowly oval. It usually does not have tendrils. The flowers are small. They have a sweet scent. The fruit are round and covered with lenticels. They can be 5 cm across. They can be white or purple or green with brown spots. They are edible. The seeds are 14-26 mm long.
Upper leaf surface glossy, usually glabrous except for the pubescent midrib and leaf-margins, occasionally the leaf margins also glabrous, occasionally the whole lamina puberulent; venation conspicuous, characteristically regular, the midrib channelled, the other nerves raised; lower leaf surface completely glabrous or with pubescent midrib, venation less conspicuous than above, midrib prominent, other nerves raised.
Leaves characteristically neatly and closely arranged, orange-tinged when dry, yellowish-green, not strongly discolorous, coriaceous in texture; petiole 2–4 mm. long, hispid; lamina 2·6–5.2 x 1–2·6 cm., oblong, narrowly elliptic-ovate or elliptic-obovate, the apex cuspidate-attenuate into a short round-tipped acumen, the base cuneate to subcordate.
Calyx of 5 strongly imbricate free sepals, these 2·5–3 mm. long, oblong, rounded or emarginate at apex, characteristically glistening reddish-brown at least when dry, margin ciliate, dorsal surface glabrous or the midrib finely long-hispid; calyx 1/2–2/3 the length of the corolla tube.
Corolla tube 3·5–4·5 mm. long, clavate, its wall thickened at the level of the anthers, its mouth constricted; outer surface finely puberulent, giving a mealy appearance; corolla lobes narrowly elliptic, ± equalling tube in length, dorsally mealy-puberulent on the overlapping surface.
Inflorescences many-flowered paniculate cymes borne terminally on the main stems and on lateral branches, and rarely also in leaf axils; panicles usually forming compact clusters but very occasionally lengthening greatly and becoming tendrillous; axes tomentose to pubescent.
Fruit up to 5 cm. in diameter, globose, white or purplish or greenish with brown spots, or brown or purplish-blue, edible.
Stamens inserted in the upper half of the tube with the anthers reaching to the mouth; anthers c. 1 mm. long.
Young shoots densely brownish or ferrugineous hispid-pubescent, indumentum persisting until bark formation.
Ovary c. 1 mm. long, cylindrical, densely pubescent at apex; style, clavuncle and stigma 1·5–2 mm. long.
Many-stemmed shrub or small tree up to 4 m. tall, with scandent branches climbing when supported.
Flowers subtended by two sepal-like bracteoles, white or creamy-white, sweet-scented.
Seeds 14–26 mm. long.
Tendrils uncommon.
