Shrub or tree 1.5-10(-20) m. tall or rarely a subshrub with a woody base; branches striate and glabrous or±densely pubescent when young but eventually glabrous and terete; bark grey-brown or dark brown, rather rough or sometimes finely reticulate; slash red.. Leaves obovate or oblanceolate to elliptic or oblong-elliptic, (5.2-)6.5-10.5(-15) cm. long, 1.4-4.5(-6) cm. wide, rounded or obtuse to acutely acuminate at the apex, usually narrowly cuneate at the base, entire to glandular-serrate or-dentate towards the apex, rather coriaceous, glabrous, with 6-13 pairs of nerves, slightly prominent on both sides or plane, and with densely reticulate tertiary venation not or only slightly prominent beneath; petiole very short or up to 3 mm. long, stout, somewhat fleshy, brown or blackish.. Inflorescences 1-3, 2-10(-15) cm. long, shorter to longer than the subtending leaf; rhachis simple or rarely branched at the base, slender, striate, glabrous or±densely pubescent, bearing cymose clusters of 2-3 flowers or solitary flowers in the bract-axils; bracts and bracteoles scale-like or rarely leafy, deciduous, 0.1-1.5 cm. long, often toothed; pedicels 1-5(-8) mm. long, glabrous or±densely pubescent.. Sepals ovate to oblong, 1.5-2 mm. long, rounded, entire or±dentate at the apex, glabrous or pubescent at the base.. Petals white to greenish white or cream, obovate, 2-3 mm. long, rounded at the apex, glabrous, enlarging to 4-6 mm. long in fruit.. Stamens 5, shorter to longer than the petals, with slender filaments, glabrous.. Ovary broadly ovoid-conic, 0.75-1 mm. long, glabrous; style 1.5-2.5 mm. long.. Capsule green to reddish brown, globose or shortly cylindric, (5-)6-9(-10) mm. long, 4-6 mm. wide.. Seeds 1-3 per capsule, dark reddish brown, ovoid,±5 mm. long,±flattened, shining, surrounded by a red aril which becomes yellowish-translucent when dry.. Fig. 1.
More
A shrub or tree. It grows up to 10 m high. It can be low growing from a woody base. The leaves are 7-11 cm long by 2-5 cm wide. They are thinly leathery. The flowers are on unbranched shoots. There are 1-3 shoots together with 2-3 flowers in a cluster. The petals are white or cream. The fruit is a capsule 6-9 mm long by 4-6 mm wide. These contain 1-3 seeds. The seeds are dark reddish-brown and 5 mm long.
Home