四川藤属 si chuan teng shu

Lianas. Nodes with narrow but distinct interpetiolar line. Leaves opposite. Inflorescences extra-axillary, pedunculate, racemelike, not branched, with few-flowered cymules arranged in lax spiral along rachis. Flowers medium sized. Corolla shallowly bowl-shaped, glabrous. Corona of 5 separate lobes inserted at base of gynostegium and alternating with anthers, ovate to semicircular, short and inconspicuous. Anthers confluent to corolla, uniformly pale and glossy with long margin and dorsal groove, apex retuse, appendages sharply delimited, ovate, scarious except for narrow midrib, covering stigma head; pollinia 2 per pollinarium, oblong, pendulous. Fruit not seen.

One species: endemic to China (Sichuan).

The corona lobes are alternate with the anthers whereas in all other genera they are opposite.

Lower Taxon

• Sichuania alterniloba M. G. Gilbert & P. T. Li