台闽苣苔 tai min ju tai

Rehmannia oldhamii Hemsley in F. B. Forbes & Hemsley, J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 26: 194. 1889; Matsumuria oldhami (Hemsley) Hemsley.

Rhizomes with fleshy scales. Stems 20-50 cm, pilose, glabrescent. Petiole 0.3-6.5 cm; leaf blade elliptic to ovate, (2.5-) 10-27 X (1.2-)4.5-12.5 cm, appressed puberulent to scabrous, base oblique, attenuate to rounded, margin repand to coarsely double serrate or dentate, apex acute to acuminate. Inflorescences many flowered; rachis pilose; bracts lanceolate to linear, (2-)5-10 mm. Calyx segments lanceolate to narrowly triangular, 0.7-1.3 cm. Corolla yellow, inside purple spotted from lobes to base, 3-4.5 cm; tube 2.6-3.7 cm; adaxial lip 4.5-6 X ca. 5 mm; abaxial lip 6-8 X ca. 8 mm. Stamens glabrous; filaments 2.2-2.7 cm; staminode ca. 0.5 mm. Pistil 2-3 cm; ovary densely appressed puberulent. Style 1.8-2.8 cm, glabrous; adaxial stigma 0.4-0.8 mm, abaxial ca. 1.2 mm. Capsule 6-8 X 3-5.5 mm. Fl. Jul-Nov.

Shaded areas in valleys; 100-1200 m. Fujian, Taiwan [Japan (including Ryukyu Islands)].

Titanotrichum oldhamii, with its truly racemose inflorescence, scaly rhizomes, and appendiculate seeds, is distinct within the Gesneriaceae. Its relationship with other genera and its systematic position within the family are unclear.