刺蒴麻 ci shuo ma

Bartramia indica Linnaeus; Triumfetta angulata Lamarck; T. bartramii Linnaeus, nom. illeg. superfl.; T. indica Lamarck; T. trilocularis Roxburgh; T. velutina Vahl.

Subshrubs or herbs. Branchlets gray-brown tomentose. Petiole 1-5 cm; lower leaf blades broadly ovate-orbicular, rhomboid, or broadly ovate, 3-lobed, 3-9.5 × 2-8.5 cm, abaxially stellate pilose, adaxially sparsely hairy, basal veins 3-5, 2 lateral ones reaching tip of lobes, base broadly cuneate or rounded, margin irregularly bluntly serrate, apex acute; upper leaf blades oblong-lanceolate, not lobed. Cymes 3-5 per axil; peduncle to 2 mm. Flower buds cylindrical, apex slightly wider, ca. 4 mm. Pedicel less than 1 mm. Sepals narrowly oblong, 4.5-5.5 mm, villous, appendaged at tip. Petals yellow, slightly shorter than sepals, hairy along margins. Stamens 10. Ovary spiny. Capsule globose, ca. 3 mm in diam., spiny, indehiscent; spines ca. 2 mm, gray-yellow puberulent, tip hooked. Seeds 2-6. Fl. summer-autumn. 2n = 32.

Forest margins, open areas, wastelands; 100-1500 m. Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Taiwan, Yunnan [throughout tropics; type from West Indies].

Triumfetta indica Lamarck (Encycl. 3: 420. 1792) is not based on Bartramia indica Linnaeus (Sp. Pl. 1: 389. 1753) and therefore blocks the transfer of B. indica to Triumfetta; hence the correct name for this species is T. rhomboidea.

The whole plant is used medicinally.