香芙蓉 xiang fu rong

Scandent shrubs, robust climbers, or trees, trunk to 20 cm d.b.h.; stems, petioles, and pedicels stellate pubescent. Stipules linear to lanceolate, ca. 1 × 0.3 cm, stellate tomentose; petiole 5-7 cm; leaf blade ovate, not lobed, 5-15 × 4-12 cm, thickly papery, both surfaces stellate hairy, denser abaxially, glabrescent, basal veins 5-7, base cordate, margin repand or dentate, apex acuminate. Flowers solitary, axillary, ± congested into a terminal raceme, fragrant. Pedicel 3-7 cm, with subapical articulation. Epicalyx lobes 5, ovate, joined at base, 4-14 × 5-10 mm, stellate pubescent, apex acuminate. Calyx lobes joined for ca. 1/2 length, ovate, 1-2 × 0.3-1 cm, abaxially with mixed stellate and club-shaped hairs, adaxially stellate tomentose, apices acuminate. Corolla white to pale pink with pale yellow center, ± spreading, ca. 3 cm in diam.; petals 2-4 × 2-3 cm, abaxially sparsely stellate pilose, adaxially glabrous. Filament tube ca. 1 cm, purplish. Capsule ovoid, 3-4 × 1.5-2 cm, densely stellate hairy. Seeds small, reniform, white or brown hirsute.

Tropical and subtropical evergreen forests; below 1400 m. ?Yunnan [Bangladesh, NE India, Myanmar].

Handel-Mazzetti (Oesterr. Bot. Z. 87: 124. 1938) identified a gathering by Wissman, probably no longer extant, as Hibiscus fragrans. It has not been possible to confirm the presence of this species within China, but it does seem quite likely that it extends into our area.