滇榄仁(原变种) dian lan ren (yuan bian zhong)

Terminalia triptera Franchet, J. Bot. (Morot) 10: 291. 1896, not Stapf (1895); T. dukouensis W. P. Fang & P. C. Kao; T. franchetii var. glabra Exell; T. franchetii var. membranifolia A. C. Chao; T. franchetii var. tomentosa Nanakorn; T. micans Handel-Mazzetti, nom. illeg. superfl.

Trees or shrubs 1.5-10 m tall. Leaf blade 5-6.5(-11) × 2.5-4.5(-6.5) cm, abaxially densely yellow or brown appressed sericeous, glabrescent, glabrous except hairy on veins and margin, or if sparsely hairy then not appressed sericeous, adaxially tomentose to ± glabrous. Spikes 4-10(-12) cm. Fl. Apr-Jul, fr. May-Dec.

Mixed forests, scattered forests, thickets, thicket margins, dry scrub, open scrub, open stony hills, slopes, dry river valleys, open dry places; (1000-)1100-3700 m. NW Guangxi (Longlin), SW Sichuan, Yunnan [N Thailand].

As circumscribed here, Terminalia franchetii var. franchetii displays considerable variation in the size of the leaf blades and the density and distribution of their indumentum. For example, plants from S Yunnan with larger, less hairy leaf blades have been called T. franchetii var. membranifolia, and plants from the Jinsha Jiang in SW Sichuan and NW Yunnan with glabrous to sparsely hairy leaf blades have been called T. franchetii var. glabra. Plants from Dukou in S Sichuan with hairy leaves at the large end of the size range were named T. dukouensis, and plants from N Thailand with hairy leaf blades and shortly stalked flowers and fruit were named T. franchetii var. tomentosa. However, apart from the minor detail of stalked flowers and fruit in the entity from Thailand, there seem to be no clear-cut discontinuities between typical T. franchetii and these variants, so they are not recognized as distinct taxa here. On the other hand, plants named T. intricata from the dry valley region where Sichuan, Xizang, and Yunnan meet appear to represent a distinct, xerophytic, local variant of T. franchetii and are accordingly recognized here at varietal rank.