Information

Medium sized, frequently glandular, shrubs with ± narrowly elliptic leaves and ± numerous small (less than 1 cm. long) flowers in axillary and terminal panicles. Calyx connate for less than half its length, bearing within 5 large (? glandular) tubercles. Petals eligulate, inserted at the opening of the calyx-tube. Filaments terete, adnate to calyx-tube for ± 0.25 mm. Stigmas fringed. Ovule solitary and basal. Capsule ± ellipsoid, 4–5 mm. long, dehiscing septicidally from the apex downwards; beak less than 0.5 mm. long. Seed solitary, straight, narrowly obovoid, filling capsule, longitudinally striate-submuricate.A genus confined to tropical Africa.Branches rusty brown, ± shortly and thickly grey-pubescent. Leaves 4–8.5 x 1–2.5 cm.; margin serrate, serrations “gland”-tipped, rarely hooked; apex acute or subacuminate; ± uniformly pubescent on both surfaces, especially on the midrib above and on (all) the nerves below; no gland-dots by transmitted light; petioles up to 1.5 (–2) cm. long, uniformly pubescent. Some of the bracts within the panicle foliaceous, up to 5 cm. long; ultimate bracts very small (less than 2 mm. long); all axes ± uniformly pubescent. Calyx-tube ± 0.25 mm. long; tubercles free apically, not fringed, margin sometimes bearing a few long hairs; calyx-lobes ± 1.75 x 0.5 mm. sparsely pubescent, not gland-dotted. Petals (? greenish-) white, ± 2 mm. long in mature bud. Ovary ± 0.75 x 0.3 mm., densely ciliate. Fruiting pedicels straight or slightly curved; capsules irregularly pubescent, not black gland-dotted. Aril more than half length of seed.