Bola De Nieve

Description

Shrubs or undershrubs 1-2 m high; young branches glabrous; internodes 3-8 cm long; stipule 8-15 mm long, upper surface glabrous, under surface hairy and glandular; cusp 3-9 mm long. Leaves opposite, 13.6-42 x 3.2-22 cm, elliptic, linear-oblong, obovate or ovate, apex acuminate or mucronate, base acute, rounded or cordate, glabrous; petiole 7-30 mm long, glabrous; lateral nerves 12-18 pairs. Upper pair of leaves at the base of peduncle smaller, 2.9-6 x 1.3-2.6 cm, obovate, oblanceolate or ovate, base rounded, sessile. Cymes corymbose, contracted, dense flowered, sessile or subsessile; peduncle glabrous; bracts 5-9 mm long, linear, acute, glabrous. Flowers 350-750 per head, white or reddish, pedicelled or sessile, central flowers of the trichasia generally sessile and ebracteolate, others pedicelled or bracteolate; pedicel 1-5 mm long, glabrous. Calyx-tube 1.5-2.5 mm long, glabrous, purple; lobes 1-9 mm long, longer than the ovary, triangular, acute, glabrous, purple. Corolla-tube 30-45 mm long, glabrous, base reddish; lobes 9-13 x 3.5-7 mm, ovate-oblong, obtuse; anthers sessile, 4-5.2 mm long; style 35-45 mm long, glabrous; stigmatic arms 1.75-3 mm long. Fruits 7-17 x 7-12 mm, hairy at the base, pale green.