走马胎 zou ma tai

Ardisia, perpendicularis E. Walker; A. pseudoverticillata Merrill; Chloranthus kiangsiensis Metcalf.

Shrubs or subshrubs stoloniferous, 1-1.5(-3) m tall. Branchlets angular, ca. 5 mm in diam., papillose puberulent when young, glabrescent. Leaves pseudoverticillate; petiole 2-4 cm, with narrow crisp wing; leaf blade elliptic to obovate or oblanceolate, 25-48 × 5-19 cm, membranous, prominently punctate, glabrous or minutely puberulent along veins abaxially, base cuneate, margin flat, pectinate-dentate, teeth apiculate, apex obtuse to subacuminate; lateral veins 15-20 on each side of midrib, marginal vein absent. Inflorescences terminal or rarely axillary, pyramidal, racemose-paniculate group of subumbels 20-35 × ca. 10 cm, glabrous or minutely puberulent. Flowers papery, white or pinkish, 4-5 mm. Pedicel 1-1.5 cm, slender. Sepals subdeltate or ovate, 1.5-2 mm, sparsely puberulent, prominently punctate, margin entire, glabrous, apex acute. Petals nearly free, ovate, sparsely punctate, margin entire, glabrous, apex acute. Stamens ca. 2/3 as long as petals; filaments obsolete; anthers ovate, not punctate dorsally, apex apiculate. Pistil subequalling petals; ovary subglabrous or puberulent; ovules uniseriate. Fruit reddish, globose, ca. 6 mm in diam., glabrous, longitudinally striate, sparsely punctate. Fl. Apr-Jul, fr. Oct-Dec.

Broad-leaved forests, hillsides, valleys, moist ravines, stream banks, shady damp places; 1000-1500 m. Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Jiangxi, Yunnan [Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam]

Ardisia maingayi may belong here. While its type has smaller leaves, inflorescences, and petioles, no qualitative feature has been found to separate it from A. gigantifolia. It is possible that the type represents diminutive forms or individuals flowering precociously.