Monoecious glabrous or pubescent-pilose subshrub to small tree up to 4.5 m., but more often not exceeding 2.5 m., with numerous long, slender branches.. Bark rough.. Twigs pale grey to greyish brown.. Orthotropic shoots slender, almost capillary when young, somewhat angular. Plagiotropic shoots 1–3(–4) cm. long, angular, subpersistent, 4–14-leaved. Brachyblasts present, co-axillary with the plagiotropic shoots, later themselves often each giving rise to a secondary plagiotropic shoot.. Cataphylls subulate, 1 mm. long. Cataphyllary stipules triangular-lanceolate, 1 mm. long, dark purplish brown.. Leaves of the plagiotropic shoots horizontally-held, distichous; petioles 0.5–1 mm. long; blades obovate, elliptic-obovate, elliptic, broadly ovate or sub-orbicular, (2–)4–11 mm. long, (1.5–)2–7 mm. wide, rounded or obtuse at the apex, rounded or rounded-cuneate at the base, firmly membranaceous, lateral nerves 4–6 pairs, scarcely prominent above or beneath, dull green above, paler and sometimes somewhat glaucous beneath.. Stipules lanceolate, 0.5–0.75 mm. long, purplish-brown.. Male flowers 1–2, ♀ solitary, or else one ♂ and one ♀ flower per axil.. Male flowers: pedicels capillary, up to 1 cm. long; sepals 6, the 3 outer ovate, 0.6 mm. long, obtuse, the 3 inner elliptic-obovate, 1 mm. long, rounded, white with a median cream band; disc-glands 6, free, circular, shortly stipitate, ± flat; stamens 3, free, filaments 1 mm. long, white, anthers ellipsoid, 0.25 mm. long, apically and longitudinally dehiscent, creamy white.. Female flowers: pedicels 2–3 mm. long, not extending in fruit, slender, slightly distally dilated; sepals somewhat broader than those of the ♂ flowers, but otherwise very similar; disc flat, shallowly 6-lobed, the lobes rounded, entire; ovary sessile, subglobose, 1 mm. diameter, smooth; styles ± 1 mm. long, ± free, suberect, bifid to halfway, stigmas linear, recurved.. Fruit depressed-globose subtrilobate, 1.5 mm. long, 1.8–2 mm. diameter, smooth, often yellowish.. Seeds triquetrous, 1.3 mm. long, 1 mm. across, very faintly lineate, buff-coloured
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Foliage leaves distichous; petioles 0.5 mm long; stipules c. 1 mm long, linear, pinkish-brown; blades 3–17 × 2–10 mm, elliptic-ovate, obovate or suborbicular, sometimes somewhat asymmetric, rounded to obtuse, rounded-cuneate at the base, membranaceous, usually glabrous above and beneath, pale yellow-green above, glaucescent beneath; lateral nerves in 4–7 pairs, not or scarcely prominent above or beneath.
Female flowers: pedicels (2)4–5 mm long, not extending in fruit, slender; sepals resembling those of the male; disk 0.65 mm in diameter, thin, flat, shallowly 5(6)-lobed, the lobes rounded, entire; ovary 1 mm in diameter, sessile, subglobose, smooth; styles 3, 0.5 mm long, free, appressed to the top of the ovary, bifid, stigmas linear.
Male flowers: pedicels 4–8 mm long, capillary; sepals 5(6), c. 1 × 1 mm, ovate-suborbicular, whitish with a pale greenish-cream midrib; disk glands 5(6), minute, free, flat, petaloid; stamens 3–4(5), free or united at the base, filaments 0.8–1 mm long, erect, anthers 0.3 mm wide, horizontal, transversely dehiscent, connective purplish.
A shrub or subshrub up to 3 m tall, monoecious or sometimes dioecious; stems several from the base, slender, wiry and often with scandent branches; twigs dark greyish-brown.
Lead shoots and lateral shoots and petioles glabrous, or sparingly white-puberulous with multicellular hairs, especially at the nodes.
Scale leaves 1 mm long, linear-oblong, fimbriate, dark brown; stipules triangular-lanceolate, otherwise resembling the scale leaves.
Fruit 2 × 3 mm, rounded-trigonous, smooth, pale green.
Seeds 1.5 × 1 mm, triquetrous, faintly lineate, buff.
Male flowers 1(2) per axil, female flowers solitary.
Lateral leafy shoots 2–8 cm long.
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