鄂西鼠李 e xi shu li

Shrubs prostrate, 8-20 cm tall. Spines not seen; annual branches pale yellow, slender, glabrous, terminal buds not becoming spinose; old branches often tortuous, striate or irregularly fissured. Leaves alternate or subopposite or fascicled on short shoots; stipules subulate, nearly equaling petioles or shorter, persistent; petiole 2-3 mm, adaxially canaliculate, glabrous; leaf blade abaxially golden-yellow when dry, adaxially green, narrowly oblanceolate or oblanceolate, small, 1-2.5 × 0.3-0.6 cm, papery or thinly leathery, both surfaces glabrous, lateral veins 3-5 pairs, curved, midvein and lateral veins slightly prominent abaxially, impressed adaxially, conspicuously reticulate, base narrowly cuneate, margin sparsely crenulate or entire or subentire at lower part, slightly revolute, apex rounded-obtuse or emarginate. Flowers not seen. Drupes 1 or 2 at lower part of branchlets or in leaf axils of short shoots, obovoid-globose, 4-5 mm in diam., with shallow cup-shaped persistent calyx tube at base; fruiting pedicel 5-8 mm, glabrous, with 2(or 3) stones. Seeds pale brown, shiny, obovoid-oblong, 4-5 mm, abaxially with margined furrow for 4/5 of length. Fl. unknown, fr. Jul-Aug.

● Rock crevices, stony sands. W Hubei (Zigui).

This species is closely related to Rhamnus erythroxylum but differs from the latter in having a prostrate, low habit; terminal buds small, never spinose; leaves small, oblanceolate or narrowly oblanceolate, with margin sparsely crenulate and apex rounded-obtuse; and stipules subulate, persistent.

Material of this species was not seen by the second author.