五膜草 wu mo cao

Plants covered with glandular hairs and these mixed with stellate hairs on young stems, petioles, abaxial surface of leaf blade, inflorescence axis, bracts, pedicels, and calyx. Rhizome to 30 × 1 cm, ± woody. Fibrous roots ca. 3 mm in diam. Stem short but robust, with leaves borne at one side. Leaves petiolate; petiole 3-10 cm; leaf blade ovate, asymmetric, 10-20 × 5-12 cm, main veins arcuate, margin entire or obscurely verrucose denticulate. Inflorescences solitary or 2 together, pedunculate, strongly curved, bracteate; peduncle 2-4 cm; bracts ovate, with 2 flowers at axil; pedicels 1-2 mm. Calyx tube campanulate; calyx lobes broadly elliptic or linear-oblong, ca. 6 × 2-3 mm. Corolla white, 6-7 mm, cleft for more than halfway; lobes long elliptic. Stamens: connective higher than anther cells; anther cells long ellipsoid, almost laterally longitudinally dehiscent. Stigma conic, almost smooth. Berry obovoid, ca. 9 mm. Seeds ovoid, ca. 0.3 mm; testa yellow, obviously reticulate. Fl. and fr. May-Nov.

Forests, by streams, moist shady banks of ravines; [200-1500 m]. S Yunnan (Hekou, Pingbian, Xishuangbanna) [N Vietnam].