Information

Often many–stemmed and much–branched shrub or small tree, 1·50–10(20) m. high, deciduous. Trunk 7–60 cm. in diam., mostly branched from low down. Bark mostly pale grey or greyish–white, smooth; wood whitish. Branches pale grey to dark brown, powdery or not, lenticellate or not, smooth; branchlets glabrous or pubescent, terete. Leaves: petiole glabrous or pubescent, often short, 1–5 mm. long; lamina shining and dark green above, paler beneath, coriaceous, very variable in shape and size, suborbicular, elliptic, narrowly elliptic, obovate or narrowly obovate, (1)1·5–4(5) times as long as wide, 2–10(15·5) x 1·4(5·5) cm., rounded, or especially in Madagascar and near the coast in Mozambique and Natal and furthermore elsewhere in shade branches acute or acuminate at the apex, cuneate or rounded at the base, glabrous or pubescent on both sides; one or two pairs of distinct secondary veins from or from above the base curved along the margin and often a faint submarginal pair; tertiary venation reticulate, not or slightly prominent above. Inflorescences axillary or ramiflorous, usually several together, very short and nearly fasciculate, 1 x 1·2 x 1·5 cm., 1·2 x branched, few–flowered. Peduncle, branches, and pedicels short or very short. Flowers 4–merous. Sepals pale green, free or nearly so, subequal, the inner slightly smaller, ovate, broadly ovate or suborbicular, 1–1·6 times as long as wide, 1·7–2·5(3) x 1·5–2·2 mm., rounded or obtuse at the apex, ciliate, glabrous or with some minute appressed hairs at the base inside, without colleters. Corolla in the mature bud (1·8)2·8–3·3(3·6) times as long as the calyx, (4·5)5–8 mm. long, white or greenish–yellow, glabrous outside, inside with a brush–like ring of white lanate hairs in the throat and just on the base of the lobes; tube cylindrical or nearly so (1)1·2–1·8(2·2) times as long as the calyx, 0·7–1·7 x as long as the lobes, 2·5–4·5(5) mm. long, 1·5–2·8 mm. wide at the throat; lobes thick, narrowly triangular, 1·5–3 times as long as wide, 2–3·6 x 1–1·9 mm., acute or subacute, spreading. Stamens hardly exserted; filaments extremely short, inserted at the mouth of the corolla tube; anthers oblong, about twice as long as wide, 1·2–1·8 x 0·6–0·8 mm., glabrous. Pistil hirto–pilose in the middle, (3·5)4–6 mm. long; ovary narrowly ovoid or oblong, 1·5–3 x 0·8–1·5 mm., hirto–pilose at the very apex, further glabrous, often with a disc–like base, gradually narrowed into the style, 2–celled; style thick (2)2·5–4 mm. long, at the base hairy like the ovary at the apex; stigma capitate. In each cell 5–30 ovules. Fruit orange or yellow, nearly mature bluish–green, large or sometimes rather small, hard when not small, globose, 2–8(10) cm. in diam., with about 5–50 seeds, with somewhat granular skin, slightly shining. Wall mostly thick, (1)2–4 mm. thick, thicker above the pedicel, brittle in mature fruits, hard and not broken by hand when nearly mature and/or dry. Pulp orange, slimy, edible. Seeds pale ochraceous, flattened or not, often more or less plano–convex, obliquely ovate, elliptic, or tetrahedral, usually irregularly curved, 1–4–1–8 times as long as wide, 11–25 x 6–18 x 5–8 mm., with thick very short erect hairs, rather rough.

Information

Often many–stemmed and much–branched shrub or small tree, 1·50–10(20) m. high, deciduous. Trunk 7–60 cm. in diam., mostly branched from low down. Bark mostly pale grey or greyish–white, smooth; wood whitish. Branches pale grey to dark brown, powdery or not, lenticellate or not, smooth; branchlets glabrous or pubescent, terete. Leaves: petiole glabrous or pubescent, often short, 1–5 mm. long; lamina shining and dark green above, paler beneath, coriaceous, very variable in shape and size, suborbicular, elliptic, narrowly elliptic, obovate or narrowly obovate, (1)1·5–4(5) times as long as wide, 2–10(15·5) x 1·4(5·5) cm., rounded, or especially in Madagascar and near the coast in Mozambique and Natal and furthermore elsewhere in shade branches acute or acuminate at the apex, cuneate or rounded at the base, glabrous or pubescent on both sides; one or two pairs of distinct secondary veins from or from above the base curved along the margin and often a faint submarginal pair; tertiary venation reticulate, not or slightly prominent above. Inflorescences axillary or ramiflorous, usually several together, very short and nearly fasciculate, 1 x 1·2 x 1·5 cm., 1·2 x branched, few–flowered. Peduncle, branches, and pedicels short or very short. Flowers 4–merous. Sepals pale green, free or nearly so, subequal, the inner slightly smaller, ovate, broadly ovate or suborbicular, 1–1·6 times as long as wide, 1·7–2·5(3) x 1·5–2·2 mm., rounded or obtuse at the apex, ciliate, glabrous or with some minute appressed hairs at the base inside, without colleters. Corolla in the mature bud (1·8)2·8–3·3(3·6) times as long as the calyx, (4·5)5–8 mm. long, white or greenish–yellow, glabrous outside, inside with a brush–like ring of white lanate hairs in the throat and just on the base of the lobes; tube cylindrical or nearly so (1)1·2–1·8(2·2) times as long as the calyx, 0·7–1·7 x as long as the lobes, 2·5–4·5(5) mm. long, 1·5–2·8 mm. wide at the throat; lobes thick, narrowly triangular, 1·5–3 times as long as wide, 2–3·6 x 1–1·9 mm., acute or subacute, spreading. Stamens hardly exserted; filaments extremely short, inserted at the mouth of the corolla tube; anthers oblong, about twice as long as wide, 1·2–1·8 x 0·6–0·8 mm., glabrous. Pistil hirto–pilose in the middle, (3·5)4–6 mm. long; ovary narrowly ovoid or oblong, 1·5–3 x 0·8–1·5 mm., hirto–pilose at the very apex, further glabrous, often with a disc–like base, gradually narrowed into the style, 2–celled; style thick (2)2·5–4 mm. long, at the base hairy like the ovary at the apex; stigma capitate. In each cell 5–30 ovules. Fruit orange or yellow, nearly mature bluish–green, large or sometimes rather small, hard when not small, globose, 2–8(10) cm. in diam., with about 5–50 seeds, with somewhat granular skin, slightly shining. Wall mostly thick, (1)2–4 mm. thick, thicker above the pedicel, brittle in mature fruits, hard and not broken by hand when nearly mature and/or dry. Pulp orange, slimy, edible. Seeds pale ochraceous, flattened or not, often more or less plano–convex, obliquely ovate, elliptic, or tetrahedral, usually irregularly curved, 1–4–1–8 times as long as wide, 11–25 x 6–18 x 5–8 mm., with thick very short erect hairs, rather rough.