锡金粗叶木 xi jin cu ye mu

Lasianthus langkokensis Drake ex Pitard; L. sikkimensis subsp. langkokensis (Drake ex Pitard) H. Zhu; L. tsangii Merrill ex H. L. Li.

Shrubs, 1-3 m tall; branches and branchlets densely brown tomentose or -villous. Petiole 6-14 mm, densely tomentose to villous; leaf blade subleathery or thinly leathery, elliptic-lanceolate or elliptic, 12-20 × 2.5-5 cm, glabrous adaxially, densely to moderately brown tomentose or villous to hirtellous abaxially, base acute or obtuse, margin usually thinly recurved, apex cuspidate-acuminate; lateral veins 8-10 pairs; midrib and nerves elevated conspicuously abaxially; nervules subparallel, conspicuous abaxially; stipules generally persistent, triangular, 2-3 mm, densely tomentose to villous. Inflorescences glomerulate, sessile, 1-3-flowered, densely strigose to villous; bracts persistent, linear to lanceolate, 0.3-2 cm. Flowers sessile or subsessile. Calyx with hypanthium portion obconic, 1-2 mm, glabrous; limb 1-2 mm, hirtellous to strigillose, 5-lobed; lobes triangular. Corolla ca. 1 cm, puberulent outside. Fruit ellipsoid, 6-8 mm, glabrous, smooth or with ca. 5 low ridges; pyrenes 5. Fr. Jun, Oct.

Forests, shaded and wet places; 300-1600 m. Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Taiwan, Yunnan, Zhejiang [Bangladesh, NE India, Philippines, Thailand, N Vietnam].

The combination of the glabrous fruit body and densely pubescent persisting calyx limb and the well-developed bracts on the sessile glomerulate inflorescences are distinctive for this species. H. Zhu (Syst. & Geogr. Pl. 72: 80. 2002) noted that the two subspecies of Lasianthus sikkimensis that were previously recognized have become difficult or impossible to separate now that more collections are available. Zhu (loc. cit.: 79) also noted that this species is very similar to L. schmidtii.