Description:
A shrub or small tree reaching up to 3 meters in height. Young branches are brown and glabrous (smooth, without hairs). Leaves are large, oblong, and up to 25 cm long. They are thick and leathery, with a dark green and glossy upper surface. The leaf apex is very pointed, and the margins have deep, sharp teeth. The leaf stalk (petiole) is very short.
Flowers occur in clusters of 2-3 near the branch tips. Bracts (small leaf-like structures at the base of the flower) are small and caducous (fall off early). The calyx (sepals) gradually transforms into the corolla (petals), with a total of 15 petal-like structures. The pedicels (flower stalks) are purplish-red and glabrous, obovate (inverted egg-shaped), and fused at the base. Stamens are numerous; the outer stamens are fused into a tube, while the inner stamens are free. The filaments (stalk of the stamen) are slightly hairy at the base, and the anthers (pollen-bearing part of the stamen) are oval-shaped. The ovary is egg-shaped and glabrous; the styles (part of the pistil) are three in number, smooth, and free from each other. The stigma (tip of the pistil) is slightly enlarged; the ovary has 3 locules (chambers), each containing 3-4 ovules (potential seeds). The fruit is a capsule that retains the calyx, spherical in shape, and with 3 distinct longitudinal grooves.
Distribution:
The plant is cultivated from Lạng Sơn (Hữu Lũng), Bắc Giang (Nhã Nam, Yên Thế), Vĩnh Phúc (Vĩnh Yên), Hà Nội to Thanh Hóa and Thừa Thiên – Huế.
Notes:
This plant is cultivated as an ornamental for its beautiful flowers, which bloom during the Lunar New Year, but they lack fragrance.