白背忍冬 bai bei ren dong

Shrubs, deciduous, to 2 m tall. Winter buds with several pairs of acute scales. Young branches, petioles, and peduncles densely spreading white hispid, rarely glabrescent. Petiole 1-3 mm, slightly clasping at base; leaf blade ovate to oblong, 1-3 × 0.9-1.8 cm, abaxially glaucous and densely soft hairy, adaxially pubescent, base subtruncate to slightly cordate, apex obtuse to rounded. Inflorescence terminal, with 3-8 whorls, sometimes branching; cymes 2-flowered (occasionally 3-flowered); peduncle to 10 mm, those in lower part of inflorescence longer; bracts leaflike, to 5 mm; bracteoles fused, shallowly cupular, usually equaling ovaries, surrounding 2 neighboring free ovaries, accrescent to 5-6 mm in diam. in fruit, outside densely glandular hairy, inside glabrous. Sepals triangular, to 1 mm, ciliate. Corolla bilabiate, creamy yellow, outside puberulent; tube ca. 7 mm, shallowly gibbous at base on ventral side, inside puberulent; upper lip shallowly 4-lobed; lower lip recurved, subequaling corolla tube. Stamens and style exserted from corolla tube; filaments and style white pubescent below middle; anthers linear, ca. 3 mm. Cupule accrescent to 1/2 length of berries; berries red, ellipsoid, ca. 5 mm, hairy. Fl. Jun-Jul, fr. Sep.

Scrub on mountain slopes; 2900-3100 m. Xizang [India, Kashmir, Nepal, Pakistan].