大果巴戟 da guo ba ji

Morinda trichophylla Merrill.

Lianas; branches at base with persistent leafless stipules, when young densely ferruginous- or yellow villosulous, terete to weakly quadrangular. Leaves opposite; petiole 3-10 mm, densely villosulous; blade drying papery, yellowed, matte to shiny adaxially, matte abaxially, elliptic, elliptic-oblong, obovate-oblong, or oblanceolate, 5.5-14 × 2-6 cm, adaxially sparsely strigose to strigillose, abaxially densely ferruginous- or yellow hirtellous to villosulous with pubescence denser along veins, base rounded to truncate, subcordate, or cordulate, apex caudate-acuminate or shortly acuminate; secondary veins 7-10 pairs, with pilosulous domatia; stipules fused into a tube or spathe, 5-9 mm, densely hispidulous to hispid, broadly triangular to truncate, on each side with 2 bristles 1-4 mm, usually quickly deciduous. Inflorescence terminal; peduncles 3-12, fascicled or umbellate, 1-3 cm, densely ferruginous- or yellow hirtellous, as a group subtended by 2 to several bracts 1-3 mm, 2- to several lobed; heads 1 per peduncle, subglobose, 5-6 mm in diam., 5-15-flowered; bracteoles linear, 0.2-1 mm. Flowers with hypanthia partially fused, biology not noted. Calyx with hypanthium portion densely strigose to strigillose; limb 1-2.5 mm, puberulent to strigillose, lobed for ca. half, lobes 4 or 5, narrowly triangular, 1-2 mm, sometimes unequal on an individual flower, often reflexed. Corolla white, rotate to salverform, outside hirtellous, pilosulous, or glabrescent, inside densely villous throughout tube and onto lobes; tube 1.5-2 mm; lobes 4 or 5, narrowly oblong to lanceolate, 4-4.5 mm, apically thickened and rostrate. Drupecetum subglobose, oblong-globose, or irregular, 1-2 cm in diam., with peduncles elongating to 4 cm. Drupes mostly fused, orange-yellow to orange-red, subglobose, 4-6 mm. Fl. May-Jul, fr. Jul-Nov.

Forests or thickets on mountain slopes, in valleys, or at streamsides or roadsides; 100-1200 m. Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan [Vietnam].

The names Morinda umbellata and M. villosa were synonymized with M. cochinchinensis by Merrill and Chun (Sunyatsenia 1(1): 80-81. 1930) but were separated by Y. Z. Ruan (in FRPS 71(2): 187, 190. 1999) as provisionally treated here.