黑叶菝葜 hei ye ba qia

Vines climbing. Stem branched, to 2 m, woody, scarcely or sparsely prickly. Petiole 6--12 mm, narrowly winged for 1/2--2/3 its length; abscission zone distal or subapical; tendrils usually present. Leaf blade becoming blackish when dried, abaxially usually glaucous, ovate-lanceolate or ovate, 3.5--9.5 × 1.5--5 cm, papery. Inflorescence of 1 umbel, basally not prophyllate; peduncle 0.8--1.5(--2.5) cm; umbels of both sexes 4--14-flowered, base slightly thickened; bracteoles ovate. Male flowers: tepals yellowish green, ca. 2.5 × 1 mm. Female flowers: tepals slightly smaller than male ones, staminodes 6. Berries blue-black, globose, 6--8 mm in diam. Fl. Apr--Jun, fr. Sep--Oct.

* Forests, thickets, shaded slopes; 900--2500 m. Gansu, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan.