白匏子

植物簡介

It is a shrub or tree that can grow up to 25 m tall. Its alternate leaves have stalks that are sometimes attached somewhat near to the centre of the underside of the leaf blades. Its thick papery leaf blades are diamond-shaped, egg-shaped or triangular-egg-shaped, slightly toothed along the margins, 1–3 lobed, green above, white to pale brown and slightly hairy below, and 3.6–20 by 2.5–17 cm. The connection between the leaf stalk and leaf blade is not very rigid, so enabling the leaf blade to rotate about the point of attachment easily, as when blown by the wind. The plant produces unisexual flowers that develop in flowering shoots (inflorescences) at the tip of branches. Its male inflorescences are up to 57 cm long. Its male flowers are yellow, and 4–6.4 mm wide. Its female inflorescences are slightly hairy, and up to 38 cm long. Its female flowers are yellow and are 2–4 mm wide. Its fruits are capsules, greenish-brown to greyish-tan, hairy, 5.5–6 by 4.2–12 mm, covered with 10–20 spines that are about 4 mm long, and each has 3 compartments within. Its seeds are partially round, glossy black, and about 2.4–4 mm across.