角萼唇柱苣苔 jiao e chun zhu ju tai

Ceratoscyphus caeruleus W. Y. Chun (1946), not Chirita caerulea R. Brown (1840); Chirita ceratoscyphus B. L. Burtt.

Perennials, stemless. Rhizome internodes inconspicuous. Leaves basal, opposite; petiole 4-5 cm X ca. 2 mm; leaf blade narrowly to broadly elliptic, 3-18 X 1.5-5.5 cm, herbaceous to papery, adaxially densely puberulent, eglandular, abaxially puberulent and densely so along veins, base oblique, cuneate on 1 side, broadly cuneate to rounded on other, margin serrate, apex acute; lateral veins 7-12 on each side of midrib, conspicuous. Cymes 1-3-flowered; peduncle 3-5 cm, puberulent; bracts 2, free, narrowly ovate to oblong, 0.8-3.5 X 0.3-1.6 cm, puberulent, margin dentate to serrulate, apex acute. Pedicel 1.2-2 cm, puberulent. Calyx 1.1-2 cm, 5-lobed from middle to above middle; tube 4-10 mm; lobes equal, lanceolate-linear with protruberance near middle, 5-10 mm, outside puberulent, inside glabrous, margin entire, apex attenuate, hollow, hornlike. Corolla purple to blue, ca. 4.5 cm, outside sparsely puberulent, inside glabrous; tube funnelform, ca. 3.2 X 1.4 cm; adaxial lip ca. 8 mm; abaxial lip ca. 1.2 cm. Filaments ca. 1.1 cm, glandular puberulent apically; anthers fused by entire adaxial surfaces, 2-4 mm, puberulent; staminodes 3, central ca. 1.5 mm, laterals ca. 6 mm. Pistil ca. 2.8 cm, puberulent; ovary ca. 1.5 cm. Stigma flabellate, ca. 6 mm, 2-lobed. Old capsule erect, ca. 5.5 cm. Fl. Apr-Jun.

Shaded valleys along streamsides; ca. 600 m. S Guangxi (Ningming Xian, Shangsi Xian) [Vietnam].

Based on observation of the types of Chirita ceratoscyphus and C. corniculata, Burtt (pers. comm.) concluded that they are the same.