绒叶木姜子 rong ye mu jiang zi

Evergreen trees, up to 10 m tall. Branchlets gray-white tomentose. Leaves alternate; petiole 1-3.5 cm, gray-white tomentose and becoming glabrous; leaf blade obovate, 5.5-18 × 3-9 cm, tomentose on both surfaces when young, tomentose abaxially and glabrous adaxially when old, pinninerved, lateral veins 6-10 pairs, with conspicuous parallel transverse veins abaxially, base cuneate, apex abruptly acute. Umbels solitary or in cluster of 2 or 3 on short branchlets, male umbel 6-flowered; peduncle ca. 1 cm. Male flowers: pedicel ca. 5 mm, tomentose; perianth segments 6; fertile stamens 9; filaments pubescent, of 3rd whorls each with 2 shortly stipitate yellow glands at base. Fruit ellipsoid, ca. 13 × 7-8 mm, seated on cup-shaped perianth tube, red becoming deep purple-black at maturity; fruiting pedicel 6-7 mm. Fl. Aug-Sep, fr. May-Jun.

● Mountain slopes, roadsides, thickets, weed-tree forests; 300-1800 m. Guizhou, Sichuan.