长蕊木姜子 chang rui mu jiang zi

Litsea garrettii Gamble var. longistaminata H. Liu, Laurac. Chine & Indochine, 196. 1934; L. longistaminata var. pubescens H. P. Tsui.

Evergreen trees, up to 10 m tall, ca. 20 cm d.b.h. Branchlets yellow-brown or ferruginous tomentose. Leaves alternate; petiole 1-2 cm, densely ferruginous tomentose; leaf blade obovate to obovate-oblong, 15-25 × 4.6-11.5 cm, pubescent and becoming glabrous abaxially, glabrous adaxially, pinninerved, lateral veins 7-9 pairs, base cuneate or obtuse, apex rounded and with abrupt acumen or acuminate. Umbels 4-6 in racemes on short branchlets, 5- or 6-flowered; peduncle ca. 1 cm, ferruginous. Male flowers: pedicel 2.5-3 mm; perianth segments 6, oblong or ovate-rounded; fertile stamens 9, ca. 7 mm, exserted; filaments pubescent, of 3rd whorls each with 2 stipitate small glands at base; rudimentary pistil small, glabrous. Fruit oblong, ca. 17 × 8 mm, apiculate at apex, seated on discoid perianth tube; fruiting pedicel 3-4 mm, pubescent. Fl. Dec-Jan, fr. Jun-Jul.

Open mountain slopes, valleys, thickets, mixed forests; 800-2000 m. SE Xizang, S Yunnan [Vietnam].

Litsea dunniana H. Léveillé (Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 9: 460. 1911) was described from Guizhou and characterized by its sessile inflorescence, long-exserted stamens, and large oblong-lanceolate pinninerved leaves, covered abaxially with long slightly villous hairs. Allen (Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 25: 388, 391. 1938) considered Léveillé’s taxon to be similar to L. garrettii var. longistaminata, but the present authors could not ascertain its status because they have seen no material.