Azarole

Shrub or tree up to ca. 4 (-10) m tall. Twigs more or less lanate or lanate-tomentose. Thorns up to ca. 8 cm long, more or less stout. Buds 2–3 (-4.2) mm long, 2–3 (-4.8) mm in diameter. Leaf blades more or less coriaceous, more or less lustrous dark green and appressed-pubescent above, pale or greyish-green and glabrous or appressed pubescent beneath, attenuate, cuneate or rounded at base, lobes obtuse, acute or cuspidate, margin entire or serrate with more or less coarse teeth; basal pair of veins divergent, straight or convergent. Subterminal leaf blades of flowering shoots (10-) 15–30 (-80) × (7-) 10–25 (-70) mm, lobes 1–2 (-4) pairs, rarely absent, basal lobes sometimes extending to midrib, each lobe entire or with (1-) 2–3 (-6) teeth in distal half, lobe length 0.5–1 (-3) times to width; petiole (2-) 4–6 (-17) mm; stipules rarely absent or 3–5 (-10) × 0.5–1 (-3) mm, entire or with 1–3 teeth. Subterminal leaf blades of short shoots (10-) 15–30 (-70) × (10-) 15–25 (-50) mm, lobes 1–2 (-4) pairs, basal pair extending to midrib, basal lobe entire or with 3 (-6) teeth in the upper half; petiole (2-) 4–8 (-28) mm long; stipules mostly undeveloped or 2–3 (-5) × 0.5–1 mm. Leaf blades of elongate shoots (15-) 20–35 (-80) × 15–25 (-70) mm, lobes 1–3 (-4) pairs, basal pair entire or 1–4 (-8) teeth at upper half; petiole 2–10 (-20) mm; stipules 4–10 (-25) × (0-) 3–5 mm, with 3–5 (-10) teeth. Inflorescence (10-) 15–20 (-45) × 15–20 (-60) mm long, corymbose, (5-) 10–20 (-25) flowered, more or less lanate or lanate-tomentose; pedicels 2–5 (-10) mm; bracts 1–4 × 0.2–0.9 mm, caducous, linear or lanceolate, margin entire or denticulate with 1–6 teeth. Flowers (5-) 10–15 mm in diameter. Hypanthium 3–6 × 3–6 mm; sepals 1.2–3.5 × 1.6–3.9 mm, usually broadly triangular, margin entire, apex more or less acute; petals 3–7 × 4–7 mm; stamens 15–20 (-22), anthers purple; styles (1-) 2–3 (4). Fruit (6-) 8–12 (-35) mm, depressed-globose, globose or slightly pyriform, yellowish-green or orange, often tinged with red, when dried, often becoming dark red; the immature fruit crowned by the persistent erect or spreading sepals, at maturity sepals re-curved; pyrenes (4-) 5–7 × 6–8 (-20) mm, dorsally sulcate, ventrally smooth, hypostyle pilose.