金平藤春 jin ping teng chun

Shrubs to 3 m tall. Branches pubescent when young, glabrescent. Petiole ca. 3 mm, transversely striate, puberulent or glabrous; leaf blade elliptic to oblong-elliptic, 5-11 × 1.4-3 cm, thinly leathery, abaxially greenish and glabrous except occasionally for puberulent midvein, adaxially shiny green and glabrous, secondary veins 10-13 on each side of midvein, slender, abaxially slightly prominent, and adaxially flat, base broadly cuneate, apex acuminate to shortly acuminate. Inflorescences leaf-opposed or superaxillary, 1- or 2-flowered; peduncle 2-3 mm, glabrous, with 4 or 5 bracts. Pedicel 4-7 mm, puberulent, with several bracteoles from base to middle. Sepals broadly ovate-reniform, ca. 1 × 2 mm, outside puberulent, inside glabrous, apex rounded. Outer petals ovate-lanceolate, ca. 7 × 4 mm, incurved at base, outside densely pubescent, inside glabrous; inner petals lanceolate, ca. 6 × 3.5 mm, incurved at base. Stamens 3, whorled; anther locules ovoid; connectives apically acute. Carpel 1, oblong, ca. 4 mm, densely villous; ovules 6-12, in 1 or 2 series; stigmas subglobose, glabrous, apex 2-cleft. Fruit not seen. Fl. Apr, fr. May-Jun.

Sparsely forested slopes; 300-700 m. SE Yunnan [Thailand, Vietnam].

Chinese material identified as Alphonsea tonquinensis Aug. Candolle (C. Y. Wu & W. T. Wang, Acta Phytotax. Sin. 6: 210. 1957) belongs here.