爵床 jue chuang

Ecbolium procumbens (Linnaeus) Kuntze; Justicia hayatae Yamamoto var. decumbens Yamamoto; J. procumbens var. hirsuta Yamamoto; J. procumbens var. linearifolia Yamamoto; Rostellularia procumbens (Linnaeus) Nees; R. procumbens var. hirsuta (Yamamoto) S. S. Ying; R. procumbens var. linearifolia (Yamamoto) S. S. Ying; R. trichochila Miquel.

Herbs 20-50 cm tall, procumbent. Stems 4-angled, sulcate, pubescent. Petiole 3-8 mm, pubescent; leaf blade elliptic, ovate-elliptic, or elliptic-oblong, 1.5-4 × 0.8-1.5 cm, subglabrous to sparsely hispid, cystoliths numerous, secondary veins 3-6 on each side of midvein and prominent, base broadly cuneate to subrounded and slightly decurrent onto petiole, margin entire or slightly undulate, apex acute to obtuse. Spikes terminal or axillary in upper leaf axils, cylindric, 1-6 cm, dense; peduncle 0.5-7 cm, densely pilose; bracts ovate to elliptic-lanceolate, 2.5-8 × 0.6-1.3 mm, abaxially pilose, margin ciliate; bracteoles lanceolate, 2.5-5 mm, abaxially pilose, margin ciliate. Calyx 4-6 mm, 4-lobed to base; lobes linear, outside pilose along veins, 1-veined, margin yellowish white and ciliate. Corolla pink or white and red-spotted on lower lip, 5-8.5 mm; lower lip ca. 3 × 3.5 mm, 3-lobed, lobes ovate, middle lobe slightly larger and ca. 1 × 1-1.5 mm; upper lip ca. 3 mm, apex emarginate. Stamens exserted; filaments ca. 4 mm, glabrous; anther thecae superposed, lower one spurred at base, upper one muticous. Ovary pubescent; style ca. 5 mm, pubescent. Capsule 4-6 mm, 4-seeded. Seeds ovate in outline, ca. 1 × 1 mm, rugose. Fl. and fr. all year. 2n = 18, 36.

Wastelands, roadsides, lawns, open fields, littoral forests; near sea level to 1500 m. Anhui, Chongqing, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Taiwan, Xizang, Yunnan, Zhejiang [Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam].