马缨丹 ma ying dan

Shrubs with long weak branches, armed with stout recurved prickles, pubescent. Petiole 1-2 cm, pubescent; leaf blade ovate to oblong, 3-8.5 X 1.5-5 cm, papery, wrinkled, very rough, with short stiff hairs, aromatic when crushed, base rounded to subcordate, margin crenate; lateral veins 5 pairs, very prominent, elevated. Capitula terminal, 1.5-2.5 cm across. Flowers yellow or orange, often turning deep red soon after opening. Ovary glabrous. Drupes deep purple, globose, ca. 4 mm in diam. 2n = 44.

Open waste places and near coast; 100-1500 m. Naturalized in Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Taiwan [tropical and subtro-pical America, often naturalized in other tropical and subtropical regions]

Medicinal, ornamental.

A very wide range of flower colors has been developed within cultivars.