卵叶巴豆 luan ye ba dou

Croton caudatus var. harmandii Gagnepain; C. caudatus var. malaccanus J. D. Hooker.

Scandent shrubs 2-3 m tall; indumentum densely stellate-hirsute; branches subglabrous. Petiole 0.5-1.5 cm, apex with 2 discoid glands; leaf blade ovate, 4-6 × 3.5-4.5 cm, papery, abaxially densely stellate hairy, adaxially sparsely ruggedly stellate hairy, base broadly cuneate to rounded, often with pair of stalked glands, margins obscurely serrulate, sometimes with glands, apex acute, sometimes caudate-acuminate; basal veins 3(-5), lateral veins 3(or 4) pairs. Inflorescence terminal, 8-16 cm; bracts linear, ca. 2 mm, densely stellate-hairy. Male flowers: sepals ovate, ca. 2.5 mm, densely stellate-hairy; petals oblong, as long as sepals, margins white woolly; stamens ca. 20; filament bases densely white woolly. Female flowers: sepals ovate, ca. 3 mm, densely stellate-hairy outside; petals oblong, smaller than sepals; ovary densely hispid; styles bifid, linear. Fruits globose, ca. 1 cm in diam., densely yellow-brown stellate-hispid. Fl. May-Aug, fr. Jul-Oct.

Montane sparse forests; 500-600 m. SW Yunnan [Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Vietnam; N Australia].