Kauai Starviolet

Description

Kadua foggiana grows as a spreading or climbing dwarf shrub whose stems reach lengths of 0.1 to 0.4 meters. The trunks are stalk-shaped in cross-section. The bald bark is often a bit glaucous . 1 The opposite arranged on the branches leaves are divided into a petiole and a leaf blade. The slightly winged petiole is 0.5 to 1 inches long and hairy at the base. The simple, leathery leaf blade is formed with a length of 6.5 to 16 centimeters and a width of 2.5 to 5 centimeters elliptic-obovate to oblong-ovate to broad ovate. The top of the leaf blade is bare, while the underside is bald or along the leaf veinshairy is sparse. The Spreitenbasis runs rounded to approximately heart-shaped, the Spreitenspitze is pointed long to skipped and the Spreitenrand is ganzrandig. From each side of the leaf median branch several pairs of side nerves clearly visible on the spur underside branch off and the leaf veins of higher order form a conspicuous, net-like pattern. The early sloping stipules are similar to the leaves, are fused with the base of the petiole and thus form a spiky leaf sheath . The triangular leaf sheath is 0.3 to 0.8 inches long and has a 0.1 to 0.2 inches long spiky tip.