glabrous; stem very thick, up to 7 lin. in diam., much swollen at the nodes; branches fairly stout, greyish-brown, nodose, nearly 2 lin. in diam. 6 in. below the apex; short-shoots borne on the stem and branches in the axils of the fallen leaves, extremely contracted, cushion-like, bearing leaves and inflorescences; leaves petioled, elliptic-oblong or elliptic, 1–1 1/2 in. long, 5–14 lin. broad, obtuse or rounded at the apex, obtuse at the base, coriaceous with cartilaginous margins, obliquely penninerved, nerves about 4 on each side of the midrib, raised on both surfaces; petiole 1–3 lin. long; umbels fascicled, 3–4-flowered; peduncle stout, 1 lin. long or less, with thin partitions between the sockets of the pedicels; pedicels 1/2 lin. long; bract ovate-cupular, dorsal margin 7/8–1 lin. long, ventral margin 3/8– 1/2 lin. long; flowers pentamerous; receptacle and calyx together campanulate, 1 5/8–1 7/8 lin. long; calyx subtruncate, 5/8– 7/8 lin. long; corolla purplish-crimson (Galpin), 2 in. long in bud or less, clavate above, inflated at the base, constricted above the basal swelling, broadened to the middle and again narrowed to the base of the apical swelling, apical swelling oblong, 2 1/2 lin. long, pentagonal with concave faces, 5-ribbed, basal swelling ellipsoid, 2 1/2–3 lin. long; tube splitting unilaterally downwards to below the middle; lobes reflexed below the middle, spathulate, 4 1/2–5 lin. long, 7/8–1 lin. broad; filaments inserted 1/2 lin. below the base of the corolla-lobes, deflexed, produced in front of the anther into a deltoid obtuse tooth 1/3 lin. long, 2 1/2–3 1/4 lin. long excluding the tooth; anthers narrowly oblong, 1 1/2–1 3/4 lin. long, truncate; disc 1/8– 1/6 lin. high, pentagonal, hardly lobed; style skittle-shaped above, thickened part 3 1/4–4 lin. long, broadest below the middle; stigma ovoid or ellipsoid, 1/2 lin. long or less. null
