长距忍冬 chang ju ren dong

Climbers, glabrous throughout. Branches becoming hollow. Winter buds with several pairs of broad scales. Accessory buds often present. Petiole 1-2 cm; leaf blade ovate or elliptic to oblong, 8-13 × 2.5-8 cm, leathery, base rounded to broadly cuneate, apex acuminate. Inflorescence axillary paired flowers; peduncle erect, 1.7-3 cm; bracts leaflike, ovate to orbicular-ovate, 1.5-2.5 cm; bracteoles fused in 2 pairs, apex rounded or retuse. Neighboring 2 ovaries fused to more than half. Calyx minute. Corolla bilabiate, white at first, later yellow to orange-red, ca. 3 cm; tube ca. 10 mm, funnelform, spurred toward base, spur ca. 12 mm, curved forward and often hidden within bracts; upper lip erect, 4-lobed, lobes unequal in shape to 8 mm; lower lip recurved. Stamens and style exserted from corolla tube; filaments and style pubescent in lower half; stigmas globose and lobed. Ovaries 5-locular. Berries yellow to red, ca. 1.5 cm in diam., subtended by persistent bracts; seeds numerous, compressed, with 2 grooves on concave side, margin thickened. Fl. May, fr. Jun-Jul.

● Forests, forest margins, scrub along streamsides; 1200-2500 m. Guangxi, SW Guizhou, SW Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan.