Sparsely branched shrub or small tree, occasional-ly to 18 m; stems more or less densely covered with minute hairs at least when young, often becoming glabrous. Leaves chartaceous, obovate, or rhombic, 3-12 by 1-4 cm, in two principal forms with inter-mediate states frequent: 1) apex rounded or subacute, margin entire, glabrous; 2) with an acute apiculum, upper part of margin dentate, midrib below with obscure minute appressed hairs (rarely with dense but very short crisped hairs); midrib prominent, lateral veins arched and meeting within the margin; petiole 4-8 mm long, glabrous or minutely hairy. Dioecious. Male inflorescence either small lateral pleiochasia (up to c. 4 cm long) or terminal pleiochasia or panicles (up to c. 8 cm long); rachis and branches of panicles with a few pairs of pedicels (c. 8 mm long) and a terminal flower, minutely hairy, and with pairs of small lanceolate bracts be-low the pedicels and sometimes along the peduncle and rachis. Male flowers more or less globose, 7 mm Ø; receptacle small, bearing 8 tepals; 4 outer tepals rotund, subcoriaceous, with sparse hairs on the outer surface; 4 inner smaller, narrower, membranaceous, glabrous. Stamens numerous (c. 25 or more); connective acuminate; anthers subsessile, loculi lat-eral, separate. Female flowers lateral or terminal, solitary or in few-flowered racemes (c. 4 cm long); receptacle coriaceous, broadly cupuliform (5-8 mm Ø) with an irregularly cleft mouth (4 tepals may be more or less clearly defined); carpels numerous (c. 25 or more), c. 2 mm long, densely packed over the receptacle, obovoid, truncated distally and bearing a short style. Drupes numerous, ovoid, apex acute, glabrous, c. 9 by 5 mm when dry, sessile on a recurved leathery pilose receptacle.
A laxly branched shrub in the undergrowth of rain-forest, sometimes semi-scandent, or a lower-storey tree up to 18 m high with rather dense leafy branches. Above 1800 m, ascending to 3000 m (rarely descending to 250 m). Montane and mossy forests of varying composition (Podocarpus, Libocedrus, No-thofagus, Castanopsis) and also in regrowth and marginal forest.
Home