疏果胡椒 shu guo hu jiao

Piper interruptum var. multinervum C. de Candolle.

Climbers dioecious. Stems 2-4.5 mm thick, ridged, glabrous. Petiole 1-2.5(-4) cm, glabrous, sheathed at base only; leaf blade ovate to long ovate, 6-13 × 4-7 cm, ± membranous or papery, without evident glands, both surfaces glabrous, base rounded or shortly tapered, ± symmetric, apex acute or shortly acuminate; veins 5(-7), all basal; reticulate veins abaxially prominent, lax. Spikes leaf-opposed. Male spikes 11-27 cm × 1.5-3 mm; peduncle ca. as long as petioles, glabrous; bracts oblong, 3-4 × ca. 1 mm, adnate to rachis, margin free, apex ± rounded. Stamens 2(or 3). Female spikes 7-17 cm, flowers unevenly developed, sparse or interrupted in fruit; peduncle nearly as long as opposite leaves, glabrous; rachis and bracts as in male spikes. Ovary distinct, ovoid, apex acute; stigmas 4 or 5. Drupe ovoid or ovoid-globose, 3-6 × 2-4 mm, smooth. Fl. May-Jun.

Forests. Taiwan [Indonesia, Philippines; Pacific Islands ?]

No Chinese material has been seen by the authors.