锈毛丁公藤 xiu mao ding gong teng

Erycibe paniculata Roxburgh var. expansa (Wallich ex G. Don) Choisy; E. ferruginea C. Y. Wu; E. ferruginosa Griffith.

Climbers, to 5 m tall. Stems striate, rust-colored stellate pubescent, glabrescent. Petiole 3-7 mm; leaf blade elliptic-obovate, 2.5-9 X 1.5-5 cm, abaxially ± reddish hirsute, adaxially glabrous, glossy, base obtuse to cuneate, apex short acuminate or cuspidate; lateral veins 3(-5) pairs, slightly prominent abaxially. Inflorescences terminal, paniculate, 4-16(-30) cm. Pedicel 1-2 mm. Flowers fragrant. Sepals ovate, 2.5-3 mm, densely stellate hirsute abaxially, glabrescent in fruit. Corolla white, 7.5-9.5 mm, midpetaline bands densely appressed pubescent abaxially; lobules elliptic-oblong, rather thick, margin entire. Stamens 2.2-2.5 mm; anthers acuminate. Ovary ca. 0.8 X 1 mm, glabrous. Stigma conical, 5-ridged. Fruit ellipsoid, ca. 12 X 6 mm, glabrous. Fr. Nov.

Open thickets; 1000-1200 m. Yunnan (Marlipo Xian) [India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand]

The type of Erycibe ferruginea (Feng 13400) is a very good match for E. expansa, a species not previously known to occur north of peninsular Myanmar. The former is here reduced to synonymy for the first time. Further collections of E. expansa are desirable, since it is apparently rare in China and very little is known about it.