Shrubs or trees, 2-5 m tall. Young branches grayish brown; current year
branchlets reddish brown, glabrous. Petiole 5-10 mm, glabrous; leaf
blade elliptic to obovate-elliptic, 7-14.5 × 3-6 cm, thinly leathery,
abaxially pale green, brown glandular punctate, and becoming pale brown
when dry, adaxially dark green, both surfaces glabrous, midvein
abaxially elevated and adaxially raised, secondary veins 7-9 on each
side of midvein and raised on both surfaces, reticulate veins visible,
base broadly cuneate to obtuse, margin apiculate-serrulate, apex acute
to acuminate. Flowers axillary or subterminal, solitary, 4-5 cm in
diam., subsessile. Bracteoles 4, semiorbicular to broadly ovate, 2.5-5
mm, glabrous or subglabrous. Sepals 5(or 6), ± persistent, ovate,
broadly ovate, or suborbicular, ca. 1 cm, crustaceous, both surfaces
gray sericeous, margin scarious, apex rounded to acute. Petals 9-10,
white, obovate, 2.5-3 × 1.5-2 cm, apex emarginate; outer 4 or 5 petals
nearly distinct; inner 5 petals basally connate for ca. 5 mm. Stamens
ca. 2 cm, glabrous; outer filament whorl basally connate for ca. 7 mm.
Ovary ovoid, minutely rugulose, glabrous or apically densely white
villous, 3(or 4)-loculed; styles 3(or 4), distinct, glabrous or basally
white villous. Capsule globose to oblate, 1.5-2 × 2-3 cm, 3(or
4)-loculed with 1 or 2 seeds per locule; pericarp tuberculate. Seeds
brown, globose to semiglobose, 1-1.3 cm in diam., reddish brown pilose.
Fl. Nov-Dec, fr. Sep. 2n =
30*.
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