Growth in flushes, internodes rather variable in length. Young twigs grooved, purplish to light-coloured but soon with grey bark; pith narrow; glabrous almost from the beginning to sometimes rather densely short-pubescent. Leaves largely distichous. Stipules 1-3(-3½) mm long, with broad base and narrow top, keeled, sometimes late caducous. Petiole 3-15 mm, leaving a conspicuous scar. Blade more or less thinly coriaceous, 10-17(-20) by 2¾-5½(-7)cm, widest at the middle or often well above, index (2.5-) 2.8-3.3(-4); base cuneate and slightly decurrent to seldom rounded, top acuminate; midrib flat to subprominent above, veins 5-9(-14) on either side, converging within the margin, comparatively slender, no domatia; reticulation distinct (less so in Indo-China), without much regularity; margins more or less distinctly dentate, rarely (sub)entire; surfaces dark green-brown with variants, mostly lighter underneath, dull but sometimes very glossy above, glabrous or with some hairs on the midrib beneath. Inflorescences mostly on the branchlets, axillary (sometimes a whole row of them on a leafless part of a twig), generally consisting of a bracteate pubescent axis 0.5-2.6 cm long, sometimes cluster-like or rarely simple to 3 cm long and then the flowers distichous, with 3-7 lateral cymes c. ½ cm long with a few to several flowers each; bracts resembling the stipules; pedicels 3-5 mm, jointed about the middle. Sepals more or less fleshy, triangular to elliptic, 1-2 by ¾-1 mm, outside with some hairs. Petals thin, 3 by 1-1½ mm, sometimes in the apical half the margins like pinched together, outside often with some hairs. Filamental tube about ½ part the total length of the stamens, glabrous; filaments 0.2-0.3 part, sometimes hairy; anthers 0.3-0.2 part, glabrous; dorsal appendage broad, triangular, as long as or somewhat longer than the cells, ventral appendages about half as long as the dorsal one. Ovary sometimes hairy, with 3-9 ovules; style glabrous. Fruit subtended by the dried diverging perianth, on a very short stipe, globose to elliptic before dehiscence and c. 1½-2½ cm long; valves glabrous or short-hairy, dark-coloured, with some veins like a man's skin, leathery with woody back and top, the latter folded inwards upon dehiscence. Seeds 3-6, c. 8-9 by 6-7 mm, with irregular pattern of dark and light colour, sometimes evenly dark-coloured, hilus distinct.
Mostly in primary, also in light forest, sometimes in swamp or peat forest, at low elevations and on hillsides up to 1000 m. No records from calcareous soil.
Home