Mussaenda philippica.
Native to the Philippines it is often cultivated and is thought to be one
parent of many of the cultivars. It has three varieties.
They are large evergreen shrubs or trees up to 8 m high.
The opposite leaves are on petioles up to 1.5 cm long.
The elliptic to ovate leaves, up to 20 cm long, have a pointed tip.
There are hairs on both leaf surfaces.
There are interpetioplar stipules that are bifid and hairy.
Inflorescences are terminal, branched clusters of flowers.
There are bracts and bracteoles with roughly 3 narrow, pointed lobes.
Inflorescence parts have soft hairs.
The calyx has 5 sepals.
A few flowers in each inflorescence have one sepal greatly enlarged.
(In cultivars more or all may be enlarged.)
This ovate to round, white sepal can be up to 9 cm long.
The corolla has 5 petals up to 3 cm long.
It consists of a long narrow tube and short ovate lobes with pointed tips.
It is a pale yellow outside with short white and red hairs.
The inner side of the lobes is a brilliant yellow with very short yellow hairs.
Inside the lower part of the tube there are a few pale hairs.
In the upper part of the tube are long, yellow, upward pointing hairs.
Flowers are either male or female and they are on different plants.
Male or staminate flowers have a 2 cm long corolla tube.
Inside, the upper 7 mm has dense, yellow hairs while the lower part of the tube has none.
The linear, 4 mm long anthers lie among the hairs.
The rudimentary, sterile pistillode is around 6 mm long.
Female or pistillate flowers have a shorter corolla tube with only fine, short hairs inside.
The anthers are sterile producing no pollen.
The style holds the top of the bifid stigma in the throat of the corolla tube.
The fruit are 2 cm long, ellipsoidal, black berries.
J.F.
