Monoecious slender erect or ascending glabrous or asperulate-papillose annual herb 10–30(–70) cm. tall.. Orthotropic shoots subangular, pale green, reddish tinged. Plagiotropic shoots 2–5(–7) cm. long, ± terete.. Cataphylls subulate, 1 mm. long. Cataphyllary stipules narrowly triangular-lanceolate, 1.5 mm. long, ± entire, chestnut-coloured.. Leaves of the plagiotropic shoots with petioles 0.1–0.2 mm. long; blades elliptic-ovate, ovate-oblong or oblong, 2–10 mm. long, 1–5 mm. wide, rounded at the apex and base, subentire, membranaceous, lateral nerves 4–7(–9) pairs, slightly prominent above and beneath, pale green above, somewhat glaucous beneath.. Stipules linear-lanceolate, 1–1.3 mm. long, acute, entire, pale green, reddish tinged.. Male flowers paired or in threes in the axils of the lower half of the flowering shoots, 9 solitary in those of the upper half.. Male flowers: pedicels capillary, 0.5 mm. long; sepals 5, rhombic-obovate, 0.75 mm. long, 0.6 mm. wide, obtuse, pale green, sometimes pink tinged; disc-glands 5, free, slightly stipitate, flat, lobate on the outer margin, shallowly verruculose, pale green; stamens 3, filaments connate in the lower half to form a short column, free above, anthers basifixed, reniform, minute, horizontally held, laterally dehiscent, orange-yellow.. Female flowers: pedicels 1 mm. long, not as slender as in ♂; sepals 5(–6), oblanceolate-oblong, 1 mm. long, 0.5 mm. wide, subacute or obtuse, pale green with white margins, sometimes pink tinged; disc saucer-shaped, shallowly or indistinctly 5(–6)-lobed, occasionally split in one or two places, crenulate, pale green; ovary sessile, roundly trilobate, 0.3 mm. diameter, shallowly verruculose; styles free, 0.2 mm. long, divaricate, bifid, the stigmas slightly recurved.. Fruit depressed-trilobate-subglobose, 1 mm. long, 1.3 mm. diameter, sparingly shallowly verruculose, pale yellow-green, sometimes streaked with red.. Seeds triquetrous, 0.7 mm. long, 0.4 mm. wide, pale ochreous-brownish, not lineate.. Fig. 3/6, p. 22.
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Very like Phyllanthustaylorianus, but differing in the following features: leaves narrowly oblong, lateral nerves up to 10 pairs and usually fairly prominent beneath; female disk ± annular to distinctly 5-lobulate; ovary shallowly and evenly papillose-verruculose to almost smooth; fruit sparingly shallowly papillose-verruculose; seeds slightly smaller, illineate, or only weakly 3–10-lineate or finely 17–18-lineate on the dorsal facet.
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