秦岭木姜子 qin ling mu jiang zi

Deciduous shrubs or small trees, up to 6 m tall. Branchlets glabrous. Leaves alternate; petiole ca. 1 cm, white tomentose when young; leaf blade obovate or obovate-elliptic, 7-11 × 3-5 cm, white tomentose on both surfaces when young, pinninerved, lateral veins 6-8 pairs, base attenuate, apex shortly acuminate or obtuse-rounded. Umbel solitary at apex of branchlet, 10- or 11-flowered, flowering before leaves or with leaves; peduncle 3-4 mm, pubescent. Pedicel 8-12 mm, pubescent. Perianth segments 6, broadly elliptic, 3-nerved and glandular-punctate. Male flowers: fertile stamens 9; filaments short, glabrous, of 3rd whorls each with 2 yellow rounded glands at base; rudimentary pistil lacking. Fruit globose, 5-6 mm in diam., black at maturity; fruiting pedicel 1.5-2 cm, gray-yellow pubescent when young. Fl. Mar-Apr, fr. Jul-Aug.

● Mountain slopes, thickets; 1000-2400 m. SE Gansu, Henan, SW Shaanxi, SW Shanxi (Yongji).

The leaves and fruits are processed for their aromatic oil and are used in food and cosmetics. The seeds contain ca. 54% of oil, which is used for making soap and lauric acid.