GBIF Taxonomic Backbone & Wikipedia Registry Profile
Description. Erect subshrubs or shrubs, 0.5 - 1.5 (- 2.5) m tall, with the main stem thick, 1.5 - 3.5 cm in diameter at base, much branched from the base, the branches fragile and scandent. Young stems 2 - 3 - angled, green, rigid, glabrescent to moderately pubescent with appressed-antrorse or spreading, simple, uniseriate, 2 - 6 - celled, eglandular trichomes 0.08 - 0.9 (- 1.2) mm long and sparse small, simple, glandular trichomes (stalk short, unicellular; head dark, oblong, multicellular); nodes green, bark of older stems greenish-brown, fissured, glabrescent; lenticels absent. Sympodial units difoliate, the leaves geminate; leaf pair subequal in size and shape. Leaves membranous, discolorous, dark green above, greenish-grey below, moderately to densely pubescent, with simple eglandular trichomes and glandular trichomes similar to those of the stems, these latter especially abundant on the veins abaxially; blades of all leaves (2.5 -) 4 - 15.5 cm long, (1 -) 1.5 - 5.7 cm wide, ovate or lanceolate, the major veins 3 - 5 on each side of mid-vein, the base short-attenuate and asymmetric, the margins entire, the apex acuminate; petioles 1 - 3 cm long, densely pubescent. Inflorescences axillary, (2 -) 4 - 8 flowers; flowering pedicels 3 - 10 mm long, short, angled or terete, spreading to pendent, non-geniculate at anthesis, green, moderately pubescent, the eglandular trichomes long, spreading; pedicel scars inconspicuous. Buds globose to ovoid, yellowish-green. Flowers 5 - merous. Calyx 1.5 - 2 mm long, 1.8 - 2.5 mm wide, cup-shaped, pentagonal in outline, thin, light green with dark green veins, moderately pubescent with the same eglandular trichomes as stems and leaves, sometimes sparse glandular trichomes, the calyx appendages absent or five, equal, 0.5 mm long, inserted very close to the margin, sparsely pubescent. Corolla (4.5 -) 6 - 8 mm long, 8 - 10 mm in diameter, yellowish-green with lilac interpetalar membrane outside, purple with greenish-yellow spots in the lobes and greenish-yellow centre within or lobes mostly yellowish-green and diffuse lilac pigmentation within, campanulate or campanulate-stellate, lobed less than 1 / 3 of the way to the base, the tube 3.8 - 4.62 mm long, with sparse small glandular trichomes (stalk unicellular; head globose, unicellular) adaxially, glabrous abaxially, the lobes 2.5 - 3.2 mm long, 2.5 - 3.5 mm wide, ovate, erect, glabrous adaxially and abaxially, the margins papillate, the tips acute, slightly papillate. Stamens five, equal; filaments 1.6 - 2.5 mm long, lilac, inserted on the corolla 0.8 - 1.3 mm from the base, with auricles fused to the corolla at the point of insertion; anthers 1.5 - 1.8 (- 2) mm long, ellipsoid, purple or lilac, somewhat connivent or not connivent at anthesis. Gynoecium with ovary 1.2 - 2 mm long, 1 - 1.5 mm in diameter, 2 (- 4) - carpellate, light green, ovoid or subglobose; ovules more than two per locule; nectary ca. 0.4 mm tall; styles dimorphic, short style 1 - 1.6 mm, not exceeding the anthers, long style 4.2 - 7 mm long, exserted ca. 1 mm beyond the anthers, cream with lilac pigmentation, clavate; stigma 0.2 - 0.37 mm long, ca. 0.75 mm wide, capitate or lobed, pale yellow. Berry 5 - 7.2 mm in diameter, globose, green turning nearly black when immature, bright red at maturity, deciduous, pungent, the pericarp thick, opaque, with giant cells (endocarp alveolate); stone cells absent; fruiting pedicels 7 - 12 (- 15) mm long, erect, strongly angled, widened distally, green; fruiting calyx 4 - 6 mm in diameter, persistent, not accrescent, discoid, the appendages 0.0 - 0.6 mm long, appressed to the berry. Seeds 4 - 12 per fruit, 3.7 - 4.8 mm long, 2 - 3 mm wide, C-shaped or subglobose, yellow to brownish-yellow, the seed coat reticulate (SM), reticulate-cerebelloid (SEM), the cells irregular in shape, the lateral walls mostly sinuate, wavy at margins; embryo imbricate or coiled.
