凉粉草 liang fen cao

Mesona elegans Hayata; M. procumbens Hemsley.

Stems 15-100 cm; branches and stems pilose or finely bristly, glabrescent. Petiole 2-15 mm; leaf blade narrowly ovate to subcircular, 2-5 × 0.8-2.8 cm, finely bristly, villous, or glabrescent or abaxially hairy along veins, base cuneate to sometimes rounded, margin serrate, apex acute to obtuse. Verticillasters in pedunculate, terminal, erect or upwardly oblique panicles 2-10(-13) cm; bracts circular to rhombic-ovate, sublanceolate, apex caudate-mucronate, shorter to slightly longer than flowers, bright colored. Pedicel 3-4(-5) mm, short hairy. Calyx 2-2.5 mm, densely white pilose, middle lobe of upper lip acute to obtuse, lower lip sometimes emarginate; fruiting calyx 3-5 mm, subglabrous or hairy on veins. Corolla white or reddish, ca. 3 mm, puberulent, throat very dilated; upper lip 4-lobed, lateral 2 lobes distinct, longer than middle lobes, or upper lip subentire. Anterior stamens longer than basally hirsute posterior pair. Nutlets black, oblong. Fl. and fr. Jul-Oct.

* Ravines, grassy, dry, and sandy areas. Guangdong, Guangxi, Jiangxi, Taiwan, Zhejiang

A decoction of dried plants mixed with rice water is used as a cooling drink in Guangdong and Guangxi provinces.