峨眉勾儿茶 e mei gou er cha

Shrubs scandent or climbing. Young branches glabrous; branchlets yellow-green, smooth. Leaves usually 2-5-fascicled on short shoots; stipules broadly ovate-lanceolate, basally connate; petiole 2-4 cm; leaf blade abaxially pale green, slightly gray or reddish when dry, adaxially deep green, ovate-elliptic or ovate-oblong, 6-12 × 3-6 cm, leathery or subleathery, abaxially pubescent on vein axils, adaxially glabrous, lateral veins (7-)9 or 10(-13) pairs, prominent on both surfaces, base cordate or rounded, slightly oblique, apex shortly acuminate or acute, often mucronulate. Inflorescences to 16 cm; branches ca. 8 cm, glabrous. Flowers yellow or greenish, glabrous, usually 2-5 in fascicles, in shortly pedunculate, terminal, broad cymose panicles. Pedicels ca. 3 mm. Drupe red, turning purple-black at maturity, cylindric-ellipsoid, 1-1.3 cm, ca. 4 mm in diam., base with persistent cup-shaped disk; fruiting pedicel 3-4 mm. Fl. Jul-Aug, fr. May-Jun of following year.

● Mountain forests; 400-1700 m. N Guizhou, W Hubei, Sichuan.

After publication of the family treatment for the Flora of China, the earlier publication of the name (Bull. Bot. Lab. N. E. Forest. Inst. Harbin 5: 16. 1979) was found to be invalid, so it was later validated in 2011.