辣椒砂仁 la jiao sha ren

Plants 1--1.5 m tall. Leaves sessile; leaf sheath conspicuously longitudinally striate; ligule entire, 3--6 mm, subleathery, glabrous; leaf blade elliptic or oblong, 18--35 × 5.5--10 cm, glabrous, lateral veins prominent, base cuneate, apex caudate-acuminate. Flowers unknown. Fruiting spikes 6--7 cm; peduncle 3--5 cm, scalelike sheaths broadly ovate, subleathery. Capsule red, 4.8--5.2 × 1.8--2.2 cm, apex obtuse, with persistent calyx. Seeds subcapitate, ca. 5 × 3 mm, warty, wholly enclosed by white aril. Fr. Aug.

* Forests; ca. 1400 m. W Yunnan (Yingjiang Xian).