川滇连蕊茶 chuan dian lian rui cha

Shrubs or trees, 1-6 m tall. Young branches grayish brown, glabrescent; current year branchlets grayish yellow pubescent. Petiole 2-5 mm, pubescent; leaf blade elliptic to oblong-elliptic, 5-9(-12) × 2-4.5 cm, thinly leathery, abaxially pale green and sparsely pubescent along midvein or glabrescent, adaxially dark green and hirtellous along midvein, midvein raised on both surfaces, secondary veins 7 or 8 on each side of midvein and obscure on both surfaces, base cuneate to broadly cuneate, margin serrulate, apex caudate to long caudate. Flowers axillary or subterminal, solitary or paired, 2-2.5 cm in diam. Pedicel 5-7 mm, thickened toward apex, glabrous; bracteoles 4 or 5, triangular-ovate to semiorbicular, 0.5-1.5 mm, outside glabrous, margin ciliolate. Calyx shallowly cupular, 4-5 mm; lobes 5, broadly ovate to suborbicular, 2-2.5 mm, glabrous or inside sericeous, margin membranous and ciliolate. Petals 5 or 6, white, ovate-elliptic to broadly obovate, 1.5-2.3 × 1-1.7 cm, basally connate for 3-5 mm, apex emarginate. Stamens 1.5-1.8 cm; outer filament whorl basally connate into a fleshy tube, distinct part and inner filaments glabrous or sparsely pilose. Ovary ca. 1.5 mm, glabrous; style 1.4-1.8 cm, apically 3-parted for ca. 1 mm. Capsule elliptic-globose, 1.5-2 × 1.2-1.5 cm, 1-loculed with l seed; pericarp ca. 1 mm thick. Seed brown, globose, 1.1-1.4 cm in diam. Fl. Feb-Mar, fr. Sep-Oct.

● Forests, thickets; 500-1700 m. W Hunan, Sichuan, NE Yunnan.