4. Veronicastrum stenostachyum (Hemsley) T. Yamazaki, J. Fac. Sci. Univ. Tokyo, Sect. 3, Bot. 7: 128. 1957.
细穗腹水草 fu shui cao
Rhizomes short, horizontal. Stems erect or arching, glabrous or hairy. Leaves alternate; petiole short; leaf blade ovate to lanceolate, 7-20 cm, membranous to papery, apex narrowly acuminate. Inflorescences axillary, sometimes terminal on main stems, 1.5-8 cm; bracts shorter or equal in length to corolla, sparsely ciliate, rarely glabrous. Calyx shorter or equal in length to corolla, sparsely ciliate, rarely glabrous. Corolla white, pale red, purple, or purple-red, 5-6 mm, straight; limb actinomorphic; lobes subdeltoid, less than 1 mm. Stamens conspicuously exserted; filaments hairy. Capsule ovoid. Seeds small; seed coat reticulate. Fl. Jun-Sep.
* Scrub, forests, forest margins; below 1300 m. NW Fujian, N to NE Guizhou, W Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, S Shaanxi, Sichuan.
