山东茜草 shan dong qian cao

Herbs, perennial, sprawling or twining, to 2 m; stems branched, quadrangular, glabrous or sparsely puberulent, retrorsely aculeolate on angles, sometimes sulcate-striate. Leaves in whorls of up to 6 or 8; petiole 6-35 mm, aculeolate; blade drying dark green, subleathery, oblanceolate, broadest toward base, 20-35 × 4-6 mm, scaberulous to retrorsely aculeolate on margins and vein on lower or on both sides, base cuneate to acute, apex acute or shortly acuminate; principal vein 1, 2 lateral veins weaker and hardly reaching half of leaf length. Inflorescences thyrsoid, with terminal and axillary congested to subcapitate cymes; axes aculeolate; bracts lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, 0.5-3 mm; peduncles 10-40 mm; pedicels 0.5-4 mm. Ovary ca. 0.8 mm, smooth. Corolla rotate, glabrous, color not recorded; fused basal part ca. 0.4 mm; lobes ovate-triangular, ca. 2 mm, acuminate. Mericarp berry not seen. Fl. Jul-Aug.

● Forests, thickets; 100-300 m. Shandong.

This local species is certainly close to the newly described Rubia pseudogalium from the Gaoligong Shan region of Yunnan but clearly separable (see there). In habit both are quite similar to Galium. In spite of their very narrow leaves and only slightly palmate veins, this R. truppeliana group probably should be placed into R. sect. Oligoneura.