Calispermum scandens Loureiro, Fl. Cochinch. 1: 156. 1790; Embelia hainanensis Merrill.

Shrubs scandent. Branchlets terete, 1.5-3 mm in diam., puberulent, glabrescent. Petiole deeply canaliculate, (5-)7-9 mm, glabrous; leaf blade elliptic or ovate, (4-)5-9(-12) × 2.5-4(-5) cm, papery to subleathery, pellucid punctate, base obtuse to rounded, margin entire or obscurely serrate distally, apex rounded, obtuse, or rarely acute; midrib impressed adaxially, red punctate-lineate abaxially; lateral veins 7-9 on each side of midrib, slightly raised on both surfaces. Inflorescences axillary, racemose, 1-3(-5) cm, reddish glandular puberulent; bracts subulate, staminate 1.5-2 mm, pistillate 0.8-1.2 mm, puberulent abaxially, margin entire, densely glandular ciliate, apex subulate. Flowers white or greenish, (4 or)5-merous, staminate 1.5-2 mm, pistillate ca. 1 mm. Pedicel 1.5-2.5 mm in staminate flowers, 0.8-1.2 mm in pistillate, puberulent. Sepals ovate, puberulent basally outside, red punctate medially, margin erose apically. Petals elliptic or oblong to obovate, free, erect, red and black punctate, glabrous outside, glandular granulose inside, margin entire, glabrous, apex obtuse to rounded. Stamens exserted to 0.7 mm, staminodes ca. 3/4 petal length; filaments puberulent at base; anthers ± square, base subcordate, apex truncate, red punctate dorsally. Style persistent; stigma capitate or 2-lobed. Fruit red, globose, ca. 5 mm in diam., black punctate. Fl. Nov-Jan, fr. Mar-May.

Mixed forests, shrubby areas, hillsides, valleys; 200-900 m. Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Yunnan [Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam]