川滇茜草 chuan dian qian cao

Herbs, scandent to climbing; stems 8-ribbed, scabrous. Leaves in whorls of 4, subsessile; blade drying papery, lanceolate to lanceolate-elliptic, 4-7 × 1.2-2 cm, both surfaces scaberulous and sometimes hirtellous, base acute to obtuse, margins entire, apex acute to acuminate; principal veins 3 or 5, palmate. Inflorescences thyrsoid, paniculate, with terminal and axillary, many-flowered cymes, usually much longer than subtending leaves; axes hirtellous, scaberulous to glabrescent; bracts lanceolate or subovate, 2-5 mm; pedicels 2-5 mm. Ovary subglabrous to hirtellous. Corolla pale yellow, somewhat funnel-shaped, glabrous or hirtellous outside, fused basal part ca. 0.5 mm; lobes 5, ovate to lanceolate, 1-1.2 mm, obtuse to acute. Mericarp berry unknown. Fl. Sep.

Grassy slopes; ca. 2100 m. Guangxi (Longlin), Sichuan (Miyi), Yunnan (Heqing) [N India].

We have not seen authentic material of Rubia edgeworthii, but both Deb and Malick (Bull. Bot. Surv. India 10(1): 11-12. 1968) and H. S. Lo (in FRPS 71(2): 304, t. 67, f. 8-13. 1999) presented good drawings. Nevertheless, nothing is known about the important underground organs of this species (rootstock or rhizome?). Judging from other characters, R. edgeworthii may belong to the vines of the R. sikkimensis group with R. tenuis (see there), but one also has to consider the upright, not climbing members of the R. mandersii group; both are elements of R. sect. Oligoneura. H. S. Lo (loc. cit.: 308) noted that the unpublished name "Rubia lancilimba F. C. How" has been written on specimens of this species.