滇西耳草 dian xi er cao

Herb, climbing to scandent; stems flattened to subterete, often angled and/or sulcate, densely villous and usually also tomentose. Leaves petiolate; petiole 1-2.5 mm, densely villous or tomentose; blade drying papery, lanceolate, lanceolate-elliptic, or narrowly ovate, 2-9 × 0.6-3 cm, adaxially moderately to densely hispidulous with pubescence denser on principal veins, abaxially densely pilosulous to hirtellous throughout, base cuneate to rounded, apex acute to long acuminate; secondary veins 3-5 pairs; stipules interpetiolar, broadly rounded to truncate, 1-3.5 mm, densely villosulous or pilosulous, with 3-9 bristles or linear lobes 1-6 mm. Inflorescences terminal and in axils of uppermost leaves, capitate, subcapitate, or glomerulate, densely pilosulous or hirtellous, sessile or pedunculate; peduncle 2-12 mm; heads 1-10, solitary or borne separately along peduncles or axes, each subglobose, 1-2 cm in diam., 15-30-flowered; bracts reduced. Flowers sessile or subsessile, distylous. Calyx with hypanthium portion turbinate to subglobose, ca. 1 mm, densely hispid; limb deeply lobed; lobes spatulate-oblong, triangular, or lanceolate, 1.2-2 mm, hispidulous to glabrescent. Corolla yellowish green, funnelform, outside glabrous to pilosulous, inside densely bearded in throat and onto lobes; tube ca. 2 mm; lobes spatulate-oblong to triangular, ca. 4 mm. Anthers 0.8-1.2 mm, exserted or included. Stigma 0.5-0.8 mm, exserted or included. Fruit capsular, subglobose to obovoid, 3.5-4 mm, pilosulous or hirtellous, cartilaginous, septicidally then later loculicidally dehiscent, with conical beak ca. 1 mm; seeds several, angled. Fl. Feb-May, fr. Jun.

● Humid thickets at streamsides; 600-800 m. Yunnan (Xishuangbanna).

Although all specimens seen of this species are pubescent, which agrees with the descriptions available, it is keyed out here also with glabrescent stems in case glabrous individuals are eventually found, as in most pubescent Rubiaceae species.