郎德木 lang de mu

Shrubs, to 2 m tall; branches flattened to subterete, hirtellous or villosulous to glabrescent. Leaves opposite, decussate; petiole 1-2 mm, hirtellous to glabrescent; blade drying stiffly leathery, ovate, elliptic, or elliptic-oblong, 2-5 × 1-3.5 cm, adaxially scabrous and often rugulose or bullate, abaxially glabrescent to pilosulous or hirtellous at least on principal veins, base obtuse to subcordate, margins thinly revolute, apex broadly obtuse to acute; secondary veins 3-6 pairs, sometimes with pilosulous to pilose domatia; stipules persistent, triangular, 4-5 mm, strigillose to pilosulous, acute. Inflorescences terminal, cymose, several to many flowered, 2-3 × 3-4.5 cm, hirtellous to hirsute; peduncle 0.7-1.5 cm; bracts narrowly triangular to ovate or elliptic, 2-15 mm, acute; pedicels 1.5-5 mm. Calyx with ovary portion subglobose, 1.5-2 mm, densely strigillose to pilosulous; limb lobed essentially to base; lobes 5, narrowly triangular to linear, 4-5 mm, sparsely strigillose to puberulent. Corolla bright red with yellow throat, salverform, pilosulous to strigillose outside; tube 12-20 mm; lobes suborbicular, ca. 3.5 × 4 mm, crisped, obtuse to rounded. Capsules globose to depressed globose, 3-4 mm in diam., densely hirtellous or villosulous; seeds ca. 0.8 × 0.5 mm. Fl. Jul-Sep.

Cultivated in Fujian, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong [native to Cuba; cultivated sporadically in tropical regions worldwide].

The cultivated plants apparently do not produce fruit; the description of the fruit here is taken from plants in the native range of this species. The few Chinese species seen are all long styled.