平卧黄芩 ping wo huang qin

Herbs perennial. Rhizomes woody. Stems few, ca. 10 cm tall, ascending, sparsely puberulent. Leaves subsessile upward, narrowly ovate, 1.5-1.7 cm × 7-9 mm, adaxially sparsely puberulent, abaxially subglabrous and glandular, base cuneate, margin remotely serrate, apex acuminate. Verticillasters numerous, crowded in terminal spikes ca. 6 cm; floral leaves broadly ovate, papery, densely pilose, long ciliate, margin subentire to slightly 1- or 2-serrate, apex acuminate. Pedicel ca. 3 mm, densely pilose. Calyx ca. 2 mm, pubescent outside; scutellum to 3 mm. Corolla yellowish, purplish on upper lip and lateral lobes of lower lip, purple spotted on middle lobe of lower lip, ca. 3 cm; tube pubescent outside, glabrous inside, slightly bent in front at base, ca. 3 mm wide at middle, gradually dilated to 5 mm wide at throat; middle lobe of lower lip subcircular, puberulent outside, glabrous inside, apex emarginate; lateral lobes near upper lip. Nutlets unknown.

Slopes. Xinjiang (Kashi Shi) [India]

Kamelin (in litt.) believes that the taxon described here should be called Scutellaria grandiflora Sims (Bot. Mag. 17: t. 635. 1803). Plants from Kashi, Xinjiang, with subentire to 1- to 2-serrate bracts and less hairy leaves differ somewhat from the original description. They may represent a local variant of the species.