光萼林檎 guang e lin qin

Shrubs or small trees, 4–10 m tall. Branchlets dark gray when old, slightly curved, terete, sparsely pubescent when young, glabrous when old; buds reddish purple, ovoid, glabrous, rarely scales sparsely pubescent at margin. Stipules caducous, linear-lanceolate, membranous, adaxially sparsely pubescent, margin entire, apex acuminate; petiole 1.5–2.5 cm; leaf blade elliptic or ovate-elliptic, 5–10 × 2.5–4 cm, sparsely pubescent when young, glabrescent, base rounded or broadly cuneate, margin obtusely serrate, apex acute or acuminate. Corymb umbel-like, 4–5.5 cm in diam., 5–7-flowered; bracts caducous, lanceolate, membranous, glabrous, margin entire, apex acuminate. Pedicel 3–5 cm, glabrous. Flowers ca. 2.5 cm in diam. Hypanthium obcampanulate, glabrous, prolonged into short tube at apex. Sepals triangular-lanceolate, ca. 8 mm, ca. as long as or slightly longer than hypanthium, abaxially glabrous, adaxially tomentose, margin entire, apex acuminate. Petals purplish white, obovate, 1–2 cm, base shortly clawed, apex rounded. Stamens ca. 30; unequal, slightly shorter than petals. Ovary 5-loculed, with 2 ovules per locule; styles 5, slightly longer than stamens, white tomentose basally. Pome yellowish red, globose, 1.5–2.5 cm in diam., core free; fruiting pedicel 1–3 cm, glabrous; distal part of hypanthium tubular, 5–8 mm; sepals persistent. Fl. May, fr. Aug–Sep.

Mixed mountain forests, stream sides in valleys; 700--2400 m. Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Jiangxi, Yunnan, Zhejiang.

The protologue appears to indicate two types. However, rather than regard the name as invalid, we consider the first-cited, flowering type (Exped. Wuyi 2414, IBSC, as “Typus fl”) to be the holotype because it is immediately followed by an explicit citation of two isotypes (IBK, PE, as “Isotypus”). We consider the second-cited, fruiting type (Exped. Wuyi 00585, IBSC, as “Typus fr”) to be a paratype.