Description: Mabea has a small, regular trunk (10 cm) with a
cylindrical cross-section,
and it is clad in smooth, dark brown bark. The tree's branches
are extended, thin, and drooping and they create an open and relatively
wide crown in the darkness of the deep forest understory. Broken
bark and twigs exude a thick, white latex sap. Leaves (9
by 3 cm) are simple and alternately arranged. Smooth and elliptical
or oblong in shape, the flat blades are supported by short petioles
(3 mm) and end in narrow, highly developed drip-tips (1.5 cm).
Blade margins are serrulate (finely serrate) and often slightly
undulate as well. A fine network of fibery, yellow veins pattern
leaf undersurfaces. New foliage (about 10% of the total leaf cover)
tends to be grown in May and again in September. Flowers
appear on long, pendulous, cone-shaped racemes (20 cm)that grow
from the ends of the long branches (terminally). As do some other
Euphorbs, they possess separate male and female flowers positioned
along different sections of the same infloresence. Male flowers,
more abundant and located distally, are comprised of three stamen
balls (4 mm in diameter) attached to thin stalks that unite and
then merge with the main raceme. The simpler female flowers, numbering
about eight per raceme and located proximally, consist of a string-like
pistil (3 cm) with a spiraled tip. The entire inflorescence is
pale green in color. Flowering occurs from late November through
January, with sporadic blossoms sometimes visible as early as
September. Fruits are deeply lobed green capsules (1.5
cm), each containing three, strong, woody compartments. Generally,
they remain in the tree for several months before finally yellowing
a bit, opening, and releasing three seeds. The annual harvests
occur from late February through early April.
