Shrubs, deciduous, to 4 m tall. Bark gray-brownish. Branchlets of current year yellowish green or yellowish brown stellate-pubescent; branchlets of previous year yellowish brown, terete, glabrous, with sparse, dispersed, small, rounded lenticels. Winter buds ovoid-lanceolate, with 2 pairs of separate scales; scales yellowish green or yellowish brown stellate-pubescent. Leaves always opposite, not clustered at apices of branchlets; stipules absent; petiole green, slender, 1.2-2 cm, yellowish green or yellowish brown stellate-pubescent; leaf blade yellowish green when young, becoming intense yellow-green adaxially when dry, ovate to elliptic-ovate, (4-)6-12(-14) × (2-)4-7(-8.5) cm, papery, both surfaces verrucose, abaxially stellate-pubescent only on veins, adaxially forklike pubescent, more densely so on midvein, immediately glabrescent, midvein raised abaxially, lateral veins 7-9-jugate, pinnate, slightly arched, branched, mostly ending in teeth, raised abaxially, slightly impressed adaxially, veinlets transverse, parallel, conspicuous abaxially, inconspicuous adaxially, not lobed, base rounded to cuneate, without glands, margin serrate, apex acuminate. Flowers appearing after leaves; inflorescence a compound umbel-like cyme, at apices of lateral short branchlets with 1-jugate leaves, 3-6 cm in diam.; rays whorled; first node of inflorescence with 6 or 7 rays, dense, yellowish green or yellowish brown stellate-pubescent, without large sterile radiant flowers; peduncles 3-5.5 cm, slender; bracts caducous, leaflike, yellowish green, linear-lanceolate, stellate pubescent; bracteoles scalelike. Flowers on rays of 2nd order, not fragrant, sessile. Calyx yellowish green; tube tubular, ca. 0.5 mm, glabrous; lobes narrowly ovate, ca. 2/3 as long as tube, sparsely stellate-pubescent, ciliolate, apex rounded or obtuse. Corolla white, rotate, ca. 3 mm in diam., glabrous; tube less than 1 mm; lobes spreading, orbicular-ovate, ca. 1 mm, apex obtuse, margin entire. Stamens subequaling corolla, inserted near base of corolla; filaments ca. 2 mm, ca. 1.5 × as long as anthers; anthers yellow, broadly elliptic, ca. 1 mm. Styles exceeding calyx lobes; stigmas capitate. Fruit maturing red, obovoid-oblong, ca. 8 × 5 mm, base rounded, apex rounded, glabrous; pyrenes compressed, ovoid, ca. 7 × 4 mm, with 1 shallow dorsal groove and 2 shallow ventral grooves, apex rounded. Fl. May-Jun, fr. Sep-Oct.
Home