乐东锥 le dong zhui

Trees ca. 18 m tall; young shoots and rachis of male inflorescences pubescent, with reddish brown, small, lamellate, waxy scalelike trichomes, glabrescent. Branchlets dull brown to brownish black. Petiole ca. 1 cm or rarely longer; leaf blade oblong to sometimes obovate-elliptic, 5-9 × 2-3.5 cm, when young abaxially covered with slightly tight layers of reddish brown, small, lamellate scalelike trichomes and with sparsely but soon glabrescent pilose hairs along midvein, base acute and sometimes slightly asymmetric, margin somewhat crenate, apex mucronate to shortly caudate; midvein adaxially impressed; secondary veins 9-12 on each side of midvein. Infructescence ca. 16 cm; rachis 1.5-2 mm thick, glabrous. Cupule subglobose, to ca. 2 cm in diam., splitting into 2 segments, basally abruptly narrowed and slightly decurrent to shortly stalked, wall ca. 1 mm thick; bracts spinelike, 3-5 mm or rarely longer, 3- or 4-angular in cross section, base wide and sometimes several transversely united in a cockscomblike pattern, puberulent and with brownish scalelike trichomes. Nut broadly conical, 1-1.2 cm in diam., apex sparsely puberulent; scar basal, ca. 1 cm in diam. Fr. Oct-Nov.

* Broad-leaved evergreen forests; circa 800 m. Hainan (Ledong Xian)