辣汁树 la zhi shu

Cinnamomum merrillianum C. K. Allen.

Small trees. Branchlets terete, glabrous, compressed or angled, ca. 1 mm in diam., densely silver sericeous initially soon glabrate. Petiole 5-12 mm, concave-convex, densely silver sericeous when young but soon glabrate; leaf blade lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, 5-10 × 1.5-2.5 cm, thinly leathery, silver sericeous on both surfaces when young, densely brownish sericeous abaxially and glabrous adaxially or glabrate on both surfaces when mature, triplinerved, basal lateral veins arising 2-5 mm above leaf base, basal lateral veins and midrib conspicuously elevated abaxially, slightly elevated adaxially, transverse veins and veinlets inconspicuous on both surfaces, base broadly cuneate, apex conspicuously falcate-acuminate. Inflorescences axillary, cymose, ca. 3 cm, solitary or few in cluster, 3-5-flowered, ± silver sericeous, long pedunculate. Pedicels up to 5 mm, densely silver sericeous. Flowers green-white, 3-4 mm. Perianth densely silver sericeous outside and inside; perianth tube obconical, ca. 1 mm; perianth lobes 6, ovate, subequal, ca. 2 mm. Fertile stamens 9, ca. 1 mm; filaments villous, those of 3rd whorl each with 2 stalked glands at base, others glandless; anthers of 1st and 2nd whorls ovate, with introrse cells, those of 3rd whorl oblong-ovate, with extrorse cells. Staminodes 3, triangular, ca. 0.6 mm, shortly stalked. Ovary narrowly ellipsoid-ovoid, ca. 1 mm, glabrous; style slender, ca. 1.2 mm; stigma discoid, inconspicuously 3-lobed. Fruit unknown. Fl. Oct.

● Sparse forests on mountaintops, dense mixed forests. Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan, S Jiangxi.