峨眉蜡瓣花 e mei la ban hua

Shrubs, to 3 m tall; young branches slender, glabrous, older growth drying dark brown, sparsely minutely lenticellate; buds narrowly ovoid, ca. 1 cm, glabrous. Leaves glabrous; stipules oblong-lanceolate, 12–17 mm, membranous; petiole 10–18 mm, glabrous; leaf blade obovate-rounded or obovate-elliptic, 4–8 × 2.5–5.5 cm, membranous, abaxially gray-white, glabrous, adaxially drying green, base asymmetrical, cordate, margin entire or serrate above middle of leaf, teeth obscurely mucronate, apex obcordate or truncate; lateral veins 6 or 7 on each side, the 2 lowermost with obscure tertiary veins. Inflorescence terminal on shoots, 12–16-flowered; peduncle 1–1.5 cm, glabrous, with 2 basal leaves, basal bracts of inflorescences elliptic, 1–1.2 × 0.6–0.7 cm, abaxially glabrous, adaxially villous; floral bracts ovate-rounded, 2–3 mm, glabrous; bracteoles 1.2–1.5 mm, glabrous. Floral cup less than 1 mm, glabrous. Sepals shorter than floral cup, apex rounded. Petals spatulate, ca. 2 × 1.5 mm, base very shortly clawed. Stamens 1.5–2 mm; disk scales 2-lobed, apex obtuse or truncate. Ovary glabrous; styles 1.2–1.5 mm. Capsules 5–6 mm. Seeds 2.5–3 mm. Fl. Mar–Jun, fr. Jun–Aug.

Montane forests; ca. 1500 m. SW Guizhou (Pan Xian), C Sichuan (Emei Shan).