49. Rhynchotechum Blume, Bijdr. 775. 1826.
线柱苣苔属 xian zhu ju tai shu
Chiliandra Griffith.
Shrubs small, terrestrial, not rhizomatous. Stems branched or simple. Leaves usually few, along stem, opposite, seldom alternate, equal to subequal in a pair; leaf blade surfaces sericeous to hirsute or woolly, often glabrescent, base attenuate to rounded. Inflorescences lax, axillary, (few)- to many-flowered cymes; bracts 2, opposite. Calyx actinomorphic, 5-sect from base; segments equal. Corolla white to reddish or purple, zygomorphic, inside glabrous; tube campanulate tubular, not swollen, shorter than limb, 1-2 mm in diam.; limb indistinctly 2-lipped; adaxial lip 2-lobed, shorter than to equalling abaxial lip; abaxial lip 3-lobed, lobes equal or subequal, apex rounded to obtuse. Stamens 4, adnate to corolla tube near base or rarely near middle, included; anthers basifixed, free, thecae parallel, confluent at apex, dehiscing longitudinally; connective not projecting; staminode absent or 1, adnate to adaxial side of corolla tube. Disc ringlike or absent. Ovary ovoid, 1-loculed; placentas 2, parietal, projecting inward, 2-cleft. Stigma 1, terminal, depressed globose, undivided. Berry ovoid to globose, slightly longer than calyx, indehiscent. Seeds unappendaged.
About 13 species: SE Asia, Pacific Islands; five species in China.
