四方麻 si fang ma

Calorhabdos cauloptera Hance in Trimmer, J. Bot. 15: 298. 1877; Veronica martini H. Léveillé.

Stems erect, ca. 1 m tall, branched, with wings ca. 1 mm wide, glabrous. Leaves alternate, subsessile or petiole ca. 4 mm; leaf blade oblong, ovate, or lanceolate, 3-10 X 1.2-4 cm. Inflorescences terminal on main stems and on leafy branches; bracts long caudate. Pedicel less than 1 mm. Calyx lobes subulate-lanceolate, ca. 1.5 mm. Corolla red, purple-red, or dark purple, 4-5 mm; tube as long as limb; limb actinomorphic; upper lobes ovate-orbicular, lower lobes lanceolate. Stamens slightly exserted; filaments hairy. Capsule ovoid to ovoid-globose, 2-3.5 mm. Fl. Aug-Nov.

* Valley meadows, sparse forests; below 2000 m. Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou (Xingren Xian), SW Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, SE Yunnan.

Used medicinally to treat dysentery and sore throat.

One specimen from Pingshan, Sichuan (T. T. Yü 4333) belongs to Veronicastrum caulopterum but differs in having thin stems prostate basally, petioles ca. 1 cm, short and lax inflorescences, and pedicel ca. 2 mm. Furthermore, it is a distant disjunct from the main area and seems to merit subspecific rank. However, the material is inadequate for a proper taxonomic treatment.