Maranthes Blume

Medium-sized to large trees. Stipules deltate, intrapetiolar, stiff, caducous. Leaves glabrous on both surfaces when mature (or lanate in African species), with dense caducous cobweb-like indumentum when young, without stomatal crypts; with paired glands at junction of lamina and petiole. Petioles eglandular. Inflorescence a many-flowered corymbose panicle. Bracts and bracteoles eglandular, caducous, not enclosing flower buds in small groups. Flowers hermaphrodite. Receptacle obconical, narrowed into pedicel, solid, almost completely filled with nectariferous tissue, short tomentose to glabrous on exterior, glabrous within, calyx lobes suborbicular, deeply concave, unequal. Petals 5, not clawed. Stamens 25-40, inserted on margin of disk, unilateral with tooth-like staminodes opposite to almost in a complete circle; filaments far exserted beyond calyx lobes, in a tangled mass. Ovary inserted laterally at mouth of receptacle; carpel bilocular with 1 ovule in each loculus. Style pubescent at base only, curved upwards, exserted. Fruit a large fleshy drupe; epicarp smooth, glabrous, not lenticellate; mesocarp fleshy; endocarp very hard, fibrous with a rough exterior, densely tomentose within, with 2 lateral plates which break away on germination. Germination phanerocotylar. Cotyledons fleshy, pale green; cataphylls absent; first 2 eophylls opposite, the others alternate or opposite.