Growth apparently in flushes; internodes of varying length. Twigs ± terete, dull greyish or sometimes purplish tinged, initially with greyish pubescence but soon glabrescent; branchlets slightly crooked, bark with faint longitudinal ribs, pith narrow. Leaves mostly distichous. Stipules (3-)4-7(-10) mm long, not appressed, triangular, with a pale-hairy keel, more or less striate, their scars not conspicuous. Petiole 5-12 mm, dull greyish, often wrinkled. Blade thin-coriaceous, to 13½-25(-38) by 4½-9(-11) cm, widest about the middle to sometimes above, index (2.1-)2.6-3.5 (-3.9); base acute and slightly decurrent, top acuminate; midrib and veins often in a similar colour as the surface to somewhat lighter; no domatia; primary veins fairly regular and converging within the margin, with distances between in the order of 1½ cm at the midrib, no smaller intermediate veins, secondary venation thin, scalariform, reticulation indistinct; margin shallowly dentate, entire near the base; surfaces dull, above grey-green-brown, glabrous, beneath with a characteristic chocolate-brownish colour, glabrous or seldom sparsely hairy on the main nerves. Inflorescences in the axil of the 2-4 latest leaves, 2-5 cm long, often rich-flowered and sometimes quite densely, peduncle mostly near the base divided into 2-4 main axes, which after anthesis may long persist as partly empty stalks; rather irregularly dichasially branched, axes laxly greyish puberulent; bracts late caducous, triangular, 1-2 mm; pedicels jointed below the middle, i.e. at 1-3 mm above their insertion. Flowers pear-shaped, the corolla converging. Sepals subor-bicular, (2-)2½-3(-4) mm, fleshy, sparsely hairy. Petals 3½-4 mm long, sometimes the top slightly recurved, outside sparsely hairy towards the top. Androecium glabrous, filamental tube 0.3 part of the length of the stamens, filaments 0.4-0.5 part, anthers 0.2-0.3 part; dorsal appendage pale, short and narrow, no ventral appendages. Pistil glabrous; ovules 6. Fruits seldom more than 2 per inflorescence, subtended by the persistent sepals, before maturity mostly tapering to both ends, (0.9-)2.3-3 cm long, bluntly triangular with hollow sides (0.8-) 1.5-2 cm wide, dull dark-purplish, the valves eventually spreading, compressed and separating into two layers, the inner one cartilaginous and straw-coloured, the outer one leathery. Seeds 3-6, c. (5-)6-8 mm long, evenly dull brownish.
Home