偏脉耳草 pian mai er cao

Hedyotis hedyotidea (Candolle) Merrill var. obliquinervis (Merrill) Fukuoka.

Shrubs or subshrubs, climbing to scandent, to 40 cm; stems terete to 4-angled, sometimes sulcate, densely villous and usually also hirtellous or villosulous. Leaves petiolate; petiole 1-5 mm, densely hirtellous or villosulous; blade drying papery, lanceolate, oblong-lanceolate, or lanceolate-elliptic, 3-8 × 0.8-2.5 cm, adaxially sparsely to moderately hispidulous and sometimes villosulous or villous on lamina and densely hispidulous on principal veins, abaxially moderately to densely hispidulous, villosulous, or hirtellous with pubescence denser on principal veins, base cuneate to rounded, apex acute to acuminate; secondary veins 3-5 pairs; stipules fused to petiole bases, densely villous to villosulous, rounded, 1-4 mm, hispidulous, with 3-7 narrowly triangular to linear lobes or bristles 2-7 mm. Inflorescences terminal and sometimes also in axils of uppermost leaves, cymose to corymbiform-rounded, 2.5-9 × 4-16 cm, densely villous, villosulous, or hirtellous or sometimes glabrescent, pedunculate or sessile and tripartite; peduncles 1.5-5 cm; bracts linear-lanceolate to lanceolate, 0.5-4 mm; pedicels 1.5-3 mm. Flowers pedicellate, distylous. Calyx moderately to densely hirtellous or villosulous; hypanthium portion obconical, 1-1.5 mm; limb lobed nearly to base; lobes lanceolate to spatulate, 2-2.5 mm, sometimes reflexed. Corolla white or greenish white, funnelform, outside subglabrous or hispidulous at least on upper part; tube 1-1.5 mm, bearded in throat; lobes lanceolate to spatulate, 2-2.5 mm. Anthers exserted or included, 0.8-1 mm. Stigmas included or exserted, 0.2-0.5 mm. Fruit capsular, compressed globose, ca. 2 mm in diam., hirtellous or villosulous, cartilaginous, septicidally then loculicidally dehiscent, beak rounded, ca. 0.6 mm high; seeds several, blackish brown, angled. Fl. Dec-Aug, young fr. Jun-Jul.

Broad-leaved forests, thickets on hills; 100-400 m. Hainan [S Vietnam].

This species is very similar to Hedyotis ampliflora and may be only a pubescent form of that species.