Shrubs or small trees, evergreen or semievergreen, to 7 m tall. Bark light brown. Branchlets of current year purplish brown or green, glabrous; branchlets of previous year gray-brownish, terete, glabrous, with dispersed, small, rounded lenticels. Winter buds oblong, with 2 pairs of separate scales; scales yellow stellate-pubescent. Leaves always opposite, not clustered at apices of branchlets; stipules absent; petiole green or reddish, robust, 1-2 mm, glabrous; leaf blade purplish green when young, obovate-oblong to oblong or narrowly oblong, 5-10(-13) × 2-4 cm, subleathery, abaxially stellate-pubescent in axils of veins, and with pedate holes in axils of veins, adaxially glabrous and lustrous, midvein raised abaxially, lateral veins 5-7-jugate, pinnate, slightly arched, rarely branched, partly ending in teeth, raised abaxially, impressed adaxially, veinlets transverse, inconspicuous on both surfaces, not lobed, base cuneate to rounded, without glands, margin serrate above middle part, apex acute to acuminate. Flowers appearing after leaves; inflorescence paniculate, terminal, 4-9 × 5-8 cm; rays opposite, decussate; first node of inflorescence with 2 rays, lax, glabrous, without large sterile radiant flowers; peduncles 2-4 cm, slender; bracts and bracteoles late deciduous or persistent and conspicuous, leaflike, green-whitish, linear-lanceolate, glabrous. Flowers on rays of 2nd and 3rd orders, fragrant, sessile. Calyx reddish; tube tubular to obconical-tubular, ca. 2 mm, glabrous; lobes broadly triangular, ca. 1 mm, glabrous, apex obtuse. Corolla white, rotate, ca. 6 mm in diam., glabrous or subglabrous; tube ca. 1 mm; lobes spreading, ovate-orbicular, ca. 2 mm, apex rounded, margin entire. Stamens equaling or slightly exceeding corolla lobes, inserted at apex of corolla tube; filaments ca. 2 mm; anthers yellow-whitish, oblong, ca. 1 mm. Styles nearly as long as calyx lobes; stigmas capitate. Fruit initially turning red, maturing purple-blackish, ellipsoid, 8-9 × ca. 6 mm, base rounded, apex rounded, glabrous; pyrenes slightly compressed, ellipsoid, 7-8 × ca. 4 mm, with a deep ventral groove, apex rounded. Fl. Jun, fr. Aug-Sep. 2n = 48*.
Home