西域旌节花 xi yu jing jie hua

Stachyurus brachystachyus (C. Y. Wu & S. K. Chen) Y. C. Tang & Y. L. Cao; S. chinensis subsp. brachystachyus (C. Y. Wu & S. K. Chen) Y. C. Tang & Y. L. Cao; S. chinensis var. brachystachyus C. Y. Wu & S. K. Chen; S. himalaicus var. alatipes C. Y. Wu ex S. K. Chen; S. himalaicus var. dasyrachis C. Y. Wu ex S. K. Chen, p.p.; S. himalaicus var. microphyllus C. Y. Wu ex S. K. Chen, p.p.; S. himalaicus subsp. purpureus Y. P. Zhu & Z. Y. Zhang.

Shrubs or small trees, 3-5 m tall. Petiole 0.5-1.5 cm; leaf blade lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, 8-13 × 3.5-5.5 cm, papery to thinly leathery, lateral veins 5-7-paired, raised on both sides, base obtuse, margin densely serrulate, apex acuminate to long acuminate. Spikes usually nodding, 5-13 cm, sessile. Flowers yellow, ca. 6 mm, subsessile; bract triangular, ca. 2 mm; bracteoles broadly ovate, apex acute. Sepals broadly ovate, ca. 3 mm, apex obtuse. Petals obovate, ca. 5 × 3.5 mm. Ovary ovoid-oblong, hairy; style ca. 1.5 mm. Fruit subglobose, 7-8 cm in diam., ± glabrous. Fl. Mar-Apr, fr. May-Aug.

Broad-leaved forests, thickets; 400-3000 m. Xizang, Yunnan [Bhutan, N India, N Myanmar, Nepal].

Some plants from NW, SW, and S Yunnan, which had been pre viously referred to Stachyurus brachystachyus , S. himalaicus var. dasyrachis, and S. himalaicus var. microphyllus, respectively, actually belong to S. yunnanensis. As the type gatherings of these names belong to S. himalaicus, they are reduced here to synonymy under that species.