Epiphytic, scandent shrub with branches
to 10 m long or sometimes terrestrial with arching branches; stem
terete to subterete, striate, glabrate; twigs terete to bluntly angled,
striate, puberulous. Leaves alternate, elliptic to ovate-elliptic,
4-10 x 1.5-3.5 cm, base cuneate and obtuse or rounded to subcordate, apex
acuminate, puberulous proximally along the midrib above, glabrous elsewhere,
margin entire and slightly revolute, usually drying brown; 3-5(-7)-plinerved
from near the base, midrib and lateral nerves impressed above and prominently
raised beneath, reticulate veinlets plane to impressed above and raised
beneath; petiole subterete, flattened above, 3-5 mm long, puberulent.
Inflorescence axillary, racemose with usually 2-10 flowers, thin and delicate
in appearance; rachis subterete to bluntly angled, 1.2-4 cm long,
pale green, glabrous but with scattered glandular fimbriae along length;
floral bract oblong-lanceolate, long-acuminate, ca. 3 mm long, pale green,
glabrous but with scattered glandular fimbriae along margin; pedicel
subterete, striate, 10-15 mm long, orange to reddish-orange, glabrous but
with scattered glandular fimbriae; bracteoles similar to floral bract but
ca. 2 mm long. Flowers glabrous with calyx 8-10 mm long, orange to
reddish-orange, with scattered glandular fimbriae; hypanthium obprismatic,
ca. 5-6 mm long, the wings ca. 2-2.5 mm wide, conspicuously veined;
limb subspreading, 5-6 mm long; lobes triangular-ovate, sharply acute,
ca. 2 mm long, conspicuously veined; sinuses obtuse; corolla
membranous when dry, somewhat obovate-urceolate with the wings widest above
the middle, ca. 10-13 mm long and 10-12 mm in diam. at the widest point,
narrowing towards the base and conspicuouly contracted at the throat, the
semi-ovate wings 2-5 mm wide, bearing scattered glandular fimbriae, orange
to reddish-orange to the throat where turning green, the lobes ovate, obtuse,
1-2 mm long, white; stamen shorter than corolla, 7-10 mm long;
filaments essentially distinct but lightly connate for about 1/2 their
length, somewhat sigmoid, ca. 4 mm long, with eddish, clavate, glandular
hairs dorsally towards the apex; anthers 4-6 mm long; thecae
mucronate at base where also seemingly lightly coherent, 2-3.5 mm long;
tubules about equalling the thecae, 2-3 mm long, dehiscing by introrse
clefts about 1/2 or more the length of the tubule; stigma truncate.
Berry blue.
Distribution. Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador; mangrove swamps to premontane (rain or moist) forest at sea level to 1600 m altitude.
Vernacular name: aengue mishito.
Uses: used as a cure. Cultivated at ABG, E, NCSC, NY, UC.