Melochia pyramidata L., angel–pod, melochia, broomwood. Suffrutescent subshrub (disturbed), potentially 100+ cm tall but in range < 50 cm tall; shoots with only cauline leaves, sparsely short–hairy.
Stems cylindric, initially slender, ca. 1 mm in diameter, short–hairy aging glabrescent with persistent bases of stipules.
Leaves helically alternate, simple, petiolate, with stipules; stipules 2, fused to base of petiole, acuminate, ca. 1.5 mm long, short–ciliate on margins, early–deciduous; petiole cylindric, to 11 mm long, with abscission constriction above the base (often reddish); blade lanceolate to ovate or roundish, 10—25 × 8—20 mm, somewhat glossy, broadly tapered to subcordate at base, serrate on margins with broad teeth overlapped at bases, ovate to obtuse at tip, 3–veined or 5–veined at base with principal and minor veins sunken on upper surface and raised on lower surface, upper surface sparsely short–hairs and with inconspicuous, minute glandular hairs, lower surface mostly glabrate but sparsely short–hairy along veins.
Inflorescence condensed axillary cymes, mostly 3—4–flowered, bracteate; peduncle at anthesis of first flower 2 mm long increasing in fruit, with upward–arching short hairs; bractlet subtending pedicel narrowly triangular, to 1.5 mm long, ± ciliate; pedicel at anthesis 2.5—3 mm long, with unbranched (simple) and stellate short hairs and approaching flower with several glandular hairs; lacking bracteoles (no epicalyx).
Flower bisexual, radial, ca. 6 mm across; calyx 5–lobed, green, 4.5—4.9 mm long, with scattered short hairs; tube bell–shaped, at anthesis ca. 2 × 2 mm, 10–ridged, with scattered short hairs; lobes acuminate–triangular, 2.5—2.8 mm long, with 3 raised veins converging at tip, the veins red–streaked, outer (lower) surface with some stellate hairs having several arms ascending from base, inner surface short–hairy; petals 5, fused ca. 0.5 mm to base of staminal tube, fused portion green, oblanceolate, 5—5.5 × 1.5 mm, above pale green with colorless margins changing to yellow and above midpoint pink–purple; stamens 5, monadelphous (fused into column), ca. 4.5 mm long; tube ca. 1 mm long, green; free filaments greenish above tube to whitish and then pinkish approaching anthers; anthers dorsifixed, dithecal, ± horizontal (versatile), 0.8—0.9 mm long, yellow, longitudinally dehiscent; pollen yellow; pistil 1, 3.3—3.5 mm long, short–stalked (stipe weakly defined from ovary); ovary superior, ellipsoid, 1 mm long, green, with subsessile glandular hairs above midpoint, 3—5–chambered, each chamber with 2 ovules; style with constriction at top of ovary, erect, green with short hairs, with 3—5 erect branches, the branches tentaclelike and stigmatic, 1.2—1.3 × 0.2 mm, pale green to midpoint and white above midpoint.
Fruit capsule, papery and somewhat inflated, loculicidal, winged with 3—5 chambered having to 2 seeds per chamber, 8 × 10 mm (including beak) and spreading wings, in top view star–shaped, tannish with brown veins, valves acuminate to needlelike (aristate), having raised veins; calyx U–shaped in fruit, 5–lobed, lobes spreading and acuminate.
Seed arillate, ovoid blunt at top, 1.8—2.3 × 1.2—1.4 mm, brown to light brown, having fine, lengthwise stripes; aril surrounding base of seed and along 1 side, colorless.
A. C. Gibson