安龙瘤果茶 an long liu guo cha

Shrubs or trees, 2-5 m tall. Young branches grayish brown; current year branchlets reddish brown, glabrous. Petiole 5-10 mm, glabrous; leaf blade elliptic to obovate-elliptic, 7-14.5 × 3-6 cm, thinly leathery, abaxially pale green, brown glandular punctate, and becoming pale brown when dry, adaxially dark green, both surfaces glabrous, midvein abaxially elevated and adaxially raised, secondary veins 7-9 on each side of midvein and raised on both surfaces, reticulate veins visible, base broadly cuneate to obtuse, margin apiculate-serrulate, apex acute to acuminate. Flowers axillary or subterminal, solitary, 4-5 cm in diam., subsessile. Bracteoles 4, semiorbicular to broadly ovate, 2.5-5 mm, glabrous or subglabrous. Sepals 5(or 6), ± persistent, ovate, broadly ovate, or suborbicular, ca. 1 cm, crustaceous, both surfaces gray sericeous, margin scarious, apex rounded to acute. Petals 9-10, white, obovate, 2.5-3 × 1.5-2 cm, apex emarginate; outer 4 or 5 petals nearly distinct; inner 5 petals basally connate for ca. 5 mm. Stamens ca. 2 cm, glabrous; outer filament whorl basally connate for ca. 7 mm. Ovary ovoid, minutely rugulose, glabrous or apically densely white villous, 3(or 4)-loculed; styles 3(or 4), distinct, glabrous or basally white villous. Capsule globose to oblate, 1.5-2 × 2-3 cm, 3(or 4)-loculed with 1 or 2 seeds per locule; pericarp tuberculate. Seeds brown, globose to semiglobose, 1-1.3 cm in diam., reddish brown pilose. Fl. Nov-Dec, fr. Sep. 2n = 30*.

● Forests on mountain slopes or in valleys; 400-1300 m. NW Guangxi, SW Guizhou, SE Yunnan.