Elytranthe tricolor Lecomte, Notul. Syst. (Paris) 3: 94. 1914.

Shrub ca. 0.5 m tall. Branches grayish, rather lenticellate. Petiole 2-3 mm; leaf blade obovate to narrowly obovate, 3.5-5.5 × 1.3-2 cm, leathery, lateral veins 2 or 3 pairs, base cuneate and slightly decurrent, apex rounded. Inflorescences solitary or paired, axillary, rarely at leafless node, 2-flowered umbels; peduncle ca. 1 mm; bract semiorbicular, ca. 1 mm; bracteoles semiorbicular, connate, ca. 1 mm. Pedicel ca. 1 mm. Calyx ellipsoid, 2.5-3 mm, limb annular, ca. 1 mm. Mature bud 2.5-3.5 cm. Corolla red with green band at top of tube, slightly curved, tube inflated, lobes greenish, lanceolate, 6-9 mm, reflexed. Filaments 3-4 mm; anthers 2-3 mm. Berry dark purple, globose, ca. 7 mm, smooth. Fl. and fr. Aug-Mar.

Recorded hosts include Aporusa chinensis, Citrus reticulata, Dimocarpus longan, Lindera communis, and Lumnitzera littorea. The distinctive shape and size of leaves of Macrosolen tricolor immediately distinguish this species from the other members of the genus recorded from China.

Bushlands; below 100 m. S Guangdong, S Guangxi, Hainan [Laos, Vietnam].