Shrubs or small trees, deciduous, to 4 m tall. Bark light brown. Branchlets of current year densely gray-brown stellate-tomentose, mixed with long hairs, or subglabrous; branchlets of previous year purple-brownish, terete, glabrous, with dispersed, small, rounded lenticels. Winter buds ovoid, ca. 5 mm, with 2 pairs of separate scales; scales adpressed pubescent outside. Leaves always opposite, not clustered at apices of branchlets; stipules absent; petiole green, slender, 1-2.5 cm, densely stellate-pubescent; leaf blade green when young, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 3.5-10 × 1.8-6 cm, papery, abaxially densely stellate-pubescent, or only so in vein axils, adaxially with sparse, simple, forklike, or stellate hairs, or hairy only on midvein, midvein raised abaxially, lateral veins 5-or 6(-8)-jugate, pinnate, arched, branched, ending in teeth, raised abaxially, impressed adaxially, veinlets transverse, slightly raised abaxially, impressed adaxially, not lobed, base broadly cuneate to rounded or slightly cordate, with 0 or 1 circular gland on both sides of midvein near base, margin remotely serrate except at base, apex caudate-acuminate. Flowers appearing after leaves; inflorescence a compound umbel-like cyme, terminal, ca. 6 cm in diam.; rays whorled; first node of inflorescence with 5-7 rays, dense, gray-brown stellate-tomentose, mixed with long hairs, without large sterile radiant flowers; peduncle (0.4-)1.5-2.5 cm; bracts and bracteoles deciduous, leaflike, green, lanceolate, hairy. Flowers on rays from 2nd to 4th order, not fragrant, sessile or shortly pedicellate. Calyx green; tube obconical, ca. 1 mm, outside sparsely or densely stellate-pubescent and with dense glandular dots; lobes triangular-ovate, very small, stellate-pubescent, apex obtuse. Corolla white, rotate, 4-5 mm in diam., outside sparsely or densely stellate-pubescent; tube ca. 1.5 mm; lobes spreading, orbicular-ovate, subequaling tube, apex rounded, margin entire. Stamens shorter than corolla, inserted at base of corolla; filaments ca. 1.5 mm; anthers yellow-whitish, elliptic, ca. 1 mm. Styles very short, shorter than calyx lobes; stigmas capitate. Fruit maturing red, broadly ellipsoid, 5-7 mm in diam., base rounded, apex rounded, glabrous; pyrenes ovoid, 4-6 mm, with 2 shallow dorsal grooves and 1 shallow ventral groove, apex rounded. Fl. Jul, fr. Sep-Oct. 2n = 18*.
More
A tree. It grows to about 9 m high. The leaves have stalks. They are opposite. The leaves are 6-14 cm long by 3-5.5 cm wide. They are oval to sword shaped. They taper to the tip. There are teeth along the edge. There are hairs underneath. The flowers are white. They occur in flat topped arrangements at the ends of branches. The fruit is fleshy with a hard covering over the seed. They are oblong and bright red. The fruit are acidic and edible.
Home