Shrubs or small trees, deciduous, to 3(-6) m tall. Bark gray-brownish or gray-whitish. Branchlets of current year yellow or yellow-whitish stellate-tomentose; branchlets of previous year gray-brownish or gray-whitish, terete, glabrous, with dispersed, small, rounded lenticels. Winter buds naked, yellow or yellow-whitish stellate-tomentose. Leaves always opposite, not clustered at apices of branchlets; stipules absent; petiole green, robust, 1-2(-3) cm, yellow or yellow-whitish stellate-tomentose; leaf blade yellowish white when young, ovate-elliptic, ovate, or broadly ovate, rarely suborbicular, obovate, or obovate-oblong, (3.5-)6-10(-19) × (2.5-)3.5-8(-10) cm, papery, abaxially at first densely but later sparsely stellate-tomentose, adaxially sparsely stellate-pubescent, midvein raised abaxially, lateral veins 5-11-jugate, pinnate, arched, branched, ending in teeth, raised abaxially, slightly impressed adaxially, veinlets transverse, slightly raised or inconspicuous abaxially, inconspicuous adaxially, not lobed, base rounded or ± slightly obliquely cordate, without glands, margin dentate, apex obtuse, acute, or shortly acuminate. Flowers appearing with leaves; inflorescence a compound umbel-like cyme, terminal, 3-6 cm in diam.; rays whorled; first node of inflorescence with (4 or)5-7(-9) rays, dense, yellow or yellow-whitish stellate-tomentose, without large sterile radiant flowers; peduncle 1-2.5(-7) cm; bracts caducous, leaflike, green, linear-lanceolate, stellate-pubescent; bracteoles linear. Flowers on rays of 3rd order, not fragrant, shortly pedicellate. Calyx greenish; tube tubular-obconical, 1.5-3 mm, stellate-tomentose; lobes triangular, small, 1-2 mm, ca. as long as or less than 2 × as long as calyx tube, stellate-tomentose, apex acute. Corolla white, rotate, ca. 5 mm in diam., glabrous; tube 1.5-2.5 mm; lobes spreading, ovate-orbicular, ca. 2 mm, nearly as long as or slightly longer than tube, apex rounded, margin entire. Stamens slightly taller than corolla lobes, inserted near base of corolla tube; filaments ca. 7 mm; anthers yellow, subglobose, ca. 1 mm. Styles not exceeding calyx lobes; stigmas 3-lobed. Fruit initially turning red, maturing black, oblong-globose, 10-13 × 6-8 mm, base rounded, apex rounded, glabrous; pyrenes compressed, ellipsoid, 5-7(-9) × (4-)5(-6) mm, with 2 shallow dorsal grooves and 3 shallow ventral grooves, apex rounded. Fl. Apr-Jun, fr. Jul-Sep.
More
An upright shrub. It grows 1.5 m high and spreads 1.5 m wide. It loses its leaves during the year. The leaves are mid green and have sharp teeth. The flowers are white. They are in flat topped clusters. The fruit are red berries which become black as they ripen.
Home