聚果九节 ju guo jiu jie

Shrubs, 0.5-3 m tall; stems densely hirtellous to tomentulose-pilosulous or glabrescent. Petiole 1.2-6 cm, densely hirtellous to glabrescent; leaf blade drying papery, dark reddish brown, gray, grayish brown, or greenish gray, oblanceolate, obovate, elliptic-obovate, or elliptic-oblong, 8-30 × 3-11.5 cm, glabrous adaxially, puberulent to densely hirtellous abaxially, base acute to obtuse and sometimes oblique, margins flat, apex acute to acuminate and sometimes curved; secondary veins 8-15 pairs, free or forming only a weak looping submarginal vein, without domatia; stipules caducous, oblong-ovate, interpetiolar, 8-20 mm, puberulent to densely hirtellous, ciliolate, 2-lobed for 1/4-1/2, lobes narrowly triangular to linear. Inflorescences terminal sometimes becoming pseudoaxillary, capitate to subcapitate, densely hirtellous, many flowered, subsessile to pedunculate; peduncle to 6 cm; head or branched portion ovoid, ellipsoid, or pyramidal in outline, 2-6.5 × 1.5-4 cm; bracts linear, ca. 5 mm. Flowers sessile. Calyx glabrous; hypanthium portion obconic, ca. 1.25 mm; limb 2.5-3 mm, deeply lobed; lobes linear-lanceolate, entire to sparsely ciliate. Corolla white, funnelform to tubular-funnelform, outside glabrous; tube ca. 4 mm, densely villous in throat; lobes lanceolate, 1.2-1.5 mm, apex thickened. Drupes red, ellipsoid, 6-8 × 3-5 mm; pyrenes 3- or 5-ribbed. Fl. Apr-Nov, fr. Jul-Dec.

Forests along valley streams; 1000-2300 m. Yunnan [Laos, Thailand (Rock 1773, A!)].