Aquifoliaceae

Habit: Small trees to about 5 m tall.

Branch: Stems drying brown to black.

Leaves: Leaves simple, alternate; the petioles 1-1.3 cm long; the lamina elliptic to weakly obovate or lanceloate, 10-16 x 4-6 cm, lighter in color abaxially when fresh, generally drying green-brown or generally tan to dark brown when dry, glabrous, lightly dark punctate abaxially, weakly coriaceous; the base sometimes weakly asymmetric; the apex acuminate, the acumen to about 1.5 cm long; the margins dentate, each tooth with a brown to black, punctate apex; the secondary venation lightly to strongly brochidodromous, anastomosing near the margins, lighter in color adaxially, raised abaxially.

Inflorescence: Staminate and pistillate inflorescences axillary, 2-4 fasciculate, racemose cymes, 2-5 cm long, the branches 2-4, with 3 flowers per branch.

Flowers: Flowers: unisexual, actinomorphic, usually 5-merous; the calyx lobes ovate, lightly connate at base, 0.1-0.2 cm long, brownish with lighter colored margin and apex; the corolla lobes obovate, lightly connate at base, 0.2-0.3 cm long, whitish to cream-green when mature, cream to tan when dry; the pistillate flowers with staminodes; the staminate flowers with pistillodes.

Fruit: Fruit a drupe, round to elliptic, to 0.6 cm in diameter, purple to black, fleshy, juicy when mature, the juice staining fingers and cloth purple to black; the base subtended by persistent, brownish calyx lobes.

Seeds: Seeds tiny, 3-5 per fruit.

Notes: Common small tree in open, grassy wetland savannas associated with aguajales of Madre de Dios, Peru.