山白前 shan bai qian

Vincetoxicum fordii (Hemsley) Kuntze.

Stems twining to 2 m, pubescent along 2 lines. Leaves opposite; petiole 0.5-2 cm; leaf blade oblong or ovate-oblong, 3.5-10 × 1.5-5 cm, sparsely pubescent, base truncate, rarely subcordate or rounded, apex short acuminate; lateral veins 4-6 pairs. Inflorescences extra axillary, corymbose or umbel-like, ca. 4 cm, to 15-flowered. Sepals ovate-triangular, puberulent; basal glands 5. Corolla yellow-white, ca. 7 mm in diam., glabrous; lobes oblong, ca. 9 × 3 mm. Corona lobes 5, thin, rounded, shorter than gynostegium, each attached adaxially to anther. Pollinia ovate-oblong. Stigma head slightly elevated. Follicles lanceolate in outline, 5-6 × ca. 1 cm. Seeds ovate, flattened; coma ca. 2.5 cm. Fl. May-Aug, fr. Aug-Dec.

* Open woodland, thickets; 200-800 m. Fujian, Guangdong, Hubei, Hunan, Yunnan.