A dioecious or rarely monoecious protandrous much-branched deciduous shrub with erect stems or small to medium tree with a spreading crown 4.5–12(–15) m. high, with pendent slender branches, and with a very poisonous milky latex.. Bark dark brown or grey to black, smooth, reticulate or rough.. Wood white, aromatic.. Twigs brown with white lenticels.. Petioles 1–2.5 cm. long, adaxially shallowly canaliculate, with 2 small hemispheric-conical glands at the apex; leaf-blades elliptic, elliptic-lanceolate, lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, (3–)5–10(–12) cm. long, (1.5–)2–4(–5.5) cm. wide, obtuse or obtusely acuminate, rounded-cuneate or rounded, shallowly crenate, with 1–2 glands on the margin near the base, chartaceous to thinly coriaceous, lateral nerves 10–19 pairs, not prominent above, slightly so beneath, dark green to yellowish green above, paler beneath.. Stipules triangular-lanceolate, 1.5–2 mm. long, aristate, laciniate, soon caducous.. Inflorescences usually appearing with the leaves.. Male inflorescences solitary, rarely geminate or fascicled, very dense, narrowly cylindric, 5–7 cm. long when mature, brown at first.. Female inflorescences small, few-flowered, usually solitary, rarely with a few ♂ flowers at the apex.. Bracts transversely ovate, pouched, 1.25 mm. across, obtuse or rounded, subentire, thickened, densely imbricate, 1-flowered, brownish or purplish, with a dense mass of minute yellowish discoid glands on each side at the base; bracteoles 0.. Male flowers: sepals 5, elliptic-ovate, 0.75 mm. long, strongly cucullate, acute or subacute, entire, greenish brown or yellowish; stamens free, filaments 1.5–2 mm. long, white or yellow, anthers 0.5 mm. long, red.. Female flowers: pedicels 0.3 mm. long, extending to 2–3 mm. long in fruit; bracteoles 2, triangular-ovate, 0.5 mm. long, acute; sepals 3, ovate, 1 mm. long, acute or subacute, fimbriate, flat, greenish; ovary trilobate, 0.8–1 mm. diameter, smooth; styles 3, 1.5 mm. long, stigmas yellowish green.. Fruit trilobate, 4.5 mm. long, 8 mm. diameter, smooth, green. Columella 4 mm. long, with broad wings.. Seeds globose, 3.5 mm. diameter, smooth, pale yellowish brown, streaked or flecked with darker brown.. Fig. 73.
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