Information

Suffrutescent subshrub, to 50 cm tall; erect, the branches ascending; young stems pale brown tomentose, the hairs mixed, sessile-stellate or tufted stellate, orsomewhatbrownish-centered peltate-stellate hairs, glabrous in age. Leaves narrowly elliptic (FTEA area) to ovate, 0.9–3.6 cm long, 0.8–2.6 cm wide, apex rounded to emarginate, sometimes mucronate, margin shallowly serrulate to crenulate especially toward the apex, base rounded; somewhat discolorous, greenish tomentose above, becoming sparsely so, the hairs tufted stellate, paler below and more densely whitish tomentose (less so with age); palmately 3–5-nerved from the base; petiole 0.5–1 cm long, pale brown tomentose; stipules filiform, 1–5 mm long, reddish brown, sparsely pubescent, persistent. Flowers solitary, rarely 2–flowered cymes; pedicel 8–20 mm long, pubescent with stellate hairs; epicalyx bracts cordate, 8–13 mm long, 8–12 mm wide (in flower), tomentose to pubescent with whitish stellate hairs, accrescent, 16–26 mm long, 13–25 mm wide (in fruit), apex rounded or acute, base cordate, sinus 1/4 to 1/3 the height of the bract (in fruit), basal lobes of sinus sometimes overlapping, becoming ± chartaceous to membranous, sparsely pubescent in fruit. Floral buds concealed by the epicalyx bracts. Sepals lanceolate, 3.5–4.5 mm long, ± 1.5 mm wide, acute, pubescent without, glabrous within, chartaceous. Petals obovate, asymmetrical, 4.5–5 mm long, 5–6 mm wide, yellow, glabrous. Staminal tube 0.5–1 mm long, free portion of filaments 1–1.5 mm long, anthers 1–1.5 mm long, free portion of staminodes 2.5–3 mm long, glabrous. Ovary ovoid to pyriform, 1.5–2 mm long, 1.5–2 mm in diameter, velutinous; 3 ovules per locule; style 0.5–1 mm long, glabrous; stigma lobes ± 1.5 mm long, reflexed. Capsules spheroid to widely or narrowly ovoid, 4–8 mm long, 5–6 mm in diameter, ± 5-lobed, velutinous, 3 seeds per locule; seed trigonal, at least one side flattened, 1.5–2 mm long, ± 1.5–2 mm wide, testa tuberculate, without an elaiosome. Fig. 14/4–6, p. 85