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Information Shrubs, rarely exceeding 1 m. in height, with haustoria bearing surface runners; hairs stellate and dendritic, sometimes with other simple ones; twigs terete to angular. Leaves alternate to opposite, petiolate; lateral nerves pinnate, principally 3–5 from the base, or obscure. Flowers axillary or terminal on short shoots in umbels or clusters, sometimes sessile, occasionally solitary; bract single, unilateral or cupular, entire or toothed. Corolla 4–5-merous, often hairy, opening spontaneously or usually explosively, zygomorphic, with a V-split on one side, generally yellow or red and green; buds often curved, somewhat inflated medially, often narrowed below the slightly ellipsoid to clavate head, sometimes developing vents below the head, often with a gland on one side; lobes shorter than tube, erect (in Africa) or reflexed, linear to spathulate. Stamens attached near the base of the corolla-lobes, erect; filaments short, straight; anthers 4-thecous, sometimes locellate, with a very small connective-appendage. Style slender, terete to angular; stigma small. Berry usually reddish, ovoid, ellipsoid or obovoid, smooth or verruculose, with a persistent calyx. 

Information Stems to 50 cm. from an extensive untidy system of surface runners bearing numerous haustorial connections; twigs terete, tomentellous with brownish dendritic hairs, soon glabrescent. Leaves opposite to subopposite; petiole 1–2 mm. long; lamina coriaceous, mid-green, elliptic-obovate, 2–3.5 cm. long, 1–2 cm. wide, rounded at the apex, cuneate to rounded at the base, tomentose on both surfaces, soon glabrescent, obscurely nerved. Flowers 1–6, sessile, clustered in the axils, 5-merous; bract unilateral, narrowly boat-shaped, 2–3 mm. long, glabrescent. Receptacle urceolate, 1.5–2 mm. long, tomentose; calyx annular, 1 mm. long, long-ciliate. Corolla 3 cm. long, dull purplish, lobes green turning dull red inside, white stellate-pubescent; buds with a narrow straight tube, with a slight ellipsoid-clavate apical swelling; lobes linear, slightly thickened, 4–5 mm. long, remaining erect. Anthers 1–1.5 mm. long, as long as the filaments. Style dull purple, slender, tapered; stigma ovoid-subglobose, 0.6 mm. across. Berry red, ovoid, 7 mm. long, 5 mm. in diameter. Fig. 13.

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