Tree 5-6 m high. Branchlets thick, glabrous. Stipules coriaceous, thick, subulate, 3 mm long, soon caducous. Terminal buds appressed, pubescent-sericeous. Leaves opposite, 7-8-jugate; robust, 35-40 cm long, striate, and sulcate to some degree at and below the nodes, angular or flat above the nodes, glabrous except for the small tufts of hairs at the adaxial face of the nodes, the interjuga 2.5-5.0 cm long; petiole 12-13 cm long; stipels thick-callous, subulate, about 2-3 mm long, often bigeminate at the upper nodes. Leaflets subcoriaceous; petiolules 3-8 mm long, glabrous; blades 7-14 cm long, 3.0-5.5 cm wide, ovate-oblong or elliptic-oblong, asymmetric, rounded or obtusely cuneate at the base, attenuate and acute at the apex, subcrenate-serrate, the teeth with acute, callose acumbent mucros 6-10 mm apart; rather dark green, smooth, and lustrous above, glabrous or with very scattered appressed hairs, the costa thinly impressed, the secondary nerves well marked, the minor veins inconspicuous; greenish or ochraceous greenish, glabrous or subglabrous beneath, with scarce subappressed hairs along the main nerves, and very sparsed and minute hairs on the surface, the costa thick, robust, very prominent, carinate and more or lesss striolate, the secondary nerves prominent, 18-21 on each side, patulous and slightly ascendent, the angle of divergence 65°-70°, parallel, 4-8 mm apart, often furcate and anastomosing near the margin, the minor veins in an almost flat, minute, conspicuous reticulum. Inflorescences short and dense or very large and loose, to 25 cm long, the peduncle stout, compressed and costate, glabrous, the branches first trichotomous then dichotomous, rather thick, angulate, compressed, up to 13 cm long, the terminal branchlets short, bearing glomerate, sessile or subsessile flowers. Bracteoles subcarnose, subulate, 1.5-2.5 mm long, puberulous. Pedicels 0-1 mm long. Male flowers hexamerous, occasionally hepta-octomerous; calyx 5.0-5.5 mm long, expanded 12-13 mm in diam, the lobes 4.5-5.0 mm long, 2-3 mm broad, almost glabrous except near the tips above, sericeous inside, minutely tomentose at the margin; stamens three times as many as the sepals, the outer whorl alternate with the sepals, the others in pairs opposite to sepals; filaments 7.0-7.5 mm long, thickening below the middle and towards the base, hirtellous, with long hyaline hairs; anthers oblong-ellipsoid, 2.0-2.2 mm long, 1.2 mm wide; carpels rudimentary, the ovaries 0.4 mm long, hirsute, the styles 2.5 mm long, pilose below, the apex hamate; disc densely velvety-tomentose. Female flowers hexamerous, occasionally hepta-octomerous; calyx about 5 mm long, expanded 13-14 mm diam, the lobes oblong-ovate, about 5 mm long, 2.5-3.0 mm wide, slightly appressed puberulous outside, sericeous inside, tomentose at the margin; staminodia also three times the number of sepals, the filaments 1.5 mm long, rather carnose, with a few hairs towards the base; anthers sterile, elliptic-oblong, 1.0-1.3 mm long; all six (or seven-eight) carpels usually developing into fruit, in the advanced stage (available specimens) the ovary 4 mm long, ovoid-oblong, densely hirsute-hipid with long but flexible bristles, the ovules two, probably only one maturing to form seed; style 5 mm long, curled, thickened at the base and hirsute on the lower part, conspicuously papillose along the ventral suture to the tip; disc densely hirsute-tomentose, dentate.
(Fig 54, p 128.) Bolivia in Las Yungas region to Cochabamba.
