平当树属 ping dang shu shu

Small trees or shrubs. Leaves alternate, serrulate; stipule filiform, caducous. Inflorescence axillary, fascicled, sometimes umbel-like; pedicels articulate; epicalyx lobes 2 or 3, verticillate, near joint. Calyx 5-partite nearly to base; sepals valvate, glabrous. Petals yellow, broadly ovate, unequal, persistent, apex truncate. Stamens 15, in 5 groups of 3, alternating with 5 tongue-shaped staminodes; filaments connate at base into short tube; anthers ovate or elliptic. Ovary sessile, 2-5-loculed, stellate puberulent, cells easily dehiscent; ovules 2 per locule; style elongate, slightly swollen upward, usually 4-5-grooved. Fruit a capsule, nearly globose, locules easily freed from each other, stellate puberulent. Seeds 1 per cell, oblong-ovoid, dark brown.

Two species: China, Myanmar, Thailand; one species (endemic) in China.

Lower Taxon

• Paradombeya sinensis Dunn