大叶白纸扇 da ye bai zhi shan

Mussaenda anomala H. L. Li; M. esquirolii H. Léveillé; M. taiwaniana Kanehira; M. wilsonii Hutchinson.

Erect or climbing shrubs, 1-3 m tall; branches terete, densely strigillose and sometimes also strigose, villosulous, or tomentulose to occasionally glabrescent. Leaves opposite; petiole 1.5-3.5 cm, moderately to densely strigillose; blade drying thinly papery, adaxially green to pale green, abaxially pale gray to whitened, broadly ovate, ovate, or broadly elliptic, 6-20 × 3.5-13 cm, both surfaces sparsely strigillose to glabrescent with pubescence denser along veins, base cuneate or usually obtuse to rounded, apex abruptly acuminate or acute; secondary veins 7-10 pairs, tertiary venation regularly areolate; stipules caducous, triangular to ovate-lanceolate, 6-10 mm, sparsely to densely strigillose, often deeply 2-lobed, segments acute. Inflorescences subcapitate becoming laxly cymose, 2-5 × 2-7 cm, densely strigillose and/or tomentulose, many flowered, sessile and tripartite or pedunculate; peduncle 1.5-3 cm; bracts deciduous, ovate, lanceolate, or bilobed, 4-10 mm, sparsely to moderately strigose to strigillose; pedicels 1-4 mm. Flowers pedicellate, biology not noted. Calyx with hypanthium portion turbinate to ellipsoid, 2.5-5 mm, densely strigose; lobes subleaflike, white, lanceolate to ligulate, 5-10 × 2-2.5 mm, moderately to densely strigillose to strigose, acute to long acuminate, with 1 lobe of 1 or few flowers on each inflorescence (or rarely all lobes of all flowers, M. anomala) usually expanded into calycophyll, blade obovate, ovate, or elliptic, (2-)3-4.5 cm, glabrescent on lamina and densely villosulous to strigillose on veins, base cuneate, stipe 5-15(-25) mm, apex acute to shortly acuminate. Corolla yellow, salverform-funnelform, outside densely sericeous; tube 9-14 mm; lobes ovate, 2-3 mm, abruptly acuminate. Infructescences to 6 × 12 cm. Berry subglobose to ellipsoid, ca. 10 × 10 mm, moderately to densely strigose, sparsely lenticellate, calyx limb deciduous. Fl. May-Jul, fr. Jul-Oct.

Roadsides or sparse forests on hills; 100-1000 m. Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Zhejiang [Japan].

The names Mussaenda shikokiana and M. taiwaniana were not cited by H. H. Hsue and H. Wu (in FRPS 71(1): 283-306. 1999). No differences are apparent between M. shikokiana and M. esquirolii, as noted by Japanese taxonomists (in herb.), and the latter are accordingly synonymized here.

Mussaenda anomala was described based on one specimen that appears to represent only an aberrant form of M. shikokiana with all its calyx lobes expanded and petaloid. This name was formally synonymized by Deng and Zhang (Acta Phytotax. Sin. 44: 609-611. 2006, under M. esquirolii), who reported visiting the type locality where they were unable to find a similar plant.