心叶箭药藤 xin ye jian yao teng

Hybanthera cordifolia Link, Klotzsch, & Otto, Icon. Pl. Rar. 109. 1831; Tylophora cordifolia (Link, Klotzsch, & Otto) Bentham & J. D. Hooker ex Kuntze; T. cordifolia Thwaites; Vincetoxicum hybanthera Kuntze, not Vincetoxicum cordifolius (Thwaites) Kuntze.

Shrubs scandent, glabrous throughout. Petiole ca. 3 cm; leaf blade ovate-cordate, 8.5-11 × 7-8 cm, base cordate, apex short acute; lateral veins 5 or 6 pairs. Inflorescences shorter than leaves; peduncle robust, to 3 cm. Pedicel 3-4 cm, purple. Sepals ovate-triangular, margin purple. Corolla rotate, ca. 2.5 cm in diam., yellow or yellowish; tube much shorter than lobes; lobes broadly ovate. Corona lobes with a horned oblong spur. Stamens oblong, anther appendages broadly ovate; pollinia subglobose, subhorizontal. Ovaries ovoid. Stigma head pentagonal, apex rounded.

Forest edges or thickets. S China (locality not given) [described from material cultivated in England]

Belostemma cordifolium was described from material cultivated in England in the early nineteenth century. No material has been seen to match the very clear illustration in the original publication, and it is likely that the species is now extinct.