扁蒴藤 bian shuo teng

Hippocratea indica Willdenow, Sp. Pl. 1: 193. 1797; Reissantia indica (Willdenow) N. Hallé.

Lianas; branchlets green, early slightly quadrangular, then cylindric, glabrous. Petiole 1-1.5 cm, grooved; leaf blade ovate, ovate-elliptic, or rarely lanceolate, 3.5-7(-10) × 2.5-4(-5) cm, papery, base cuneate, distal margin sparsely denticulate, apex subacute; lateral veins 5 or 6 pairs, slender, reticulate veins horizontally spreading. Cymes 3-5 cm; bracts lanceolate, margin sparingly ciliolate; pedicel 8-10 mm. Flowers green-white; sepals ovate-deltoid, ca. 1 mm, membranous, margin irregularly denticulate; petals oblong-deltoid, ca. 1.5 mm. Stamens longer than style; anthers slightly square. Ovary with 4 ovules per locule; style subtriangular. Fruits 1-3-fascicled capsules; capsule narrowly oblong-elliptic, 3-4 × 1-1.5 cm, apex emarginate. Seeds 2, ca. 2.5 cm, wing apex emarginate. Fl. May-Jul, fr. Sep-Oct.

Rare, shrubs of low-lying areas; below 100-1600 m. Guangdong (Xuwen), Hainan [India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam].