Shrubs, 50-80 cm tall; branches terete, slightly stout, purplish black, glabrous or pubescent, short branch usually ca. 1 cm, with dense nodes and short internodes. Leaves arranged on short branches; petiole short or leaves subsessile; blade thickly papery or slightly fleshy, black adaxially and pale brown abaxially when dry, ovate-elliptic to lanceolate-oblong, 0.7-1.2 × 4-6 mm, both surfaces glabrous except margin ciliate, base broadly cuneate, apex acute or obtuse; midrib conspicuous abaxially, lateral veins sparse, inconspicuous; stipules long triangular, 2-2.5 mm, cuspidate-caudate, sometimes both sides adnate to petiole. Flowers sessile, usually 3 flowers terminal on tips of short branches; bracteoles 2, scarious, transparent, ca. 4.5 mm, connate to middle portion, apex with an acicular apiculus. Calyx tube ca. 2.5 mm; lobes 5, triangular, ca. 0.6 mm, densely ciliate, acute. Corolla purple, turning black when dry, broadly funnelform, ca. 1.6 mm, glabrous outside, throat expanded, ca. 5 mm in diam., sparsely villous or subglabrous inside; lobes 5, broadly ovate-suborbicular, ca. 4 mm, apex shallowly 3-lobed or cuspidate, apiculus obtuse. Stamens 5, inserted below corolla tube throat; filaments very short; anthers lanceolate-linear, ca. 2 mm. Style ca. 12 mm; stigmas 3-lobed, ca. 2 mm, linear.
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