灵药牛奶菜 ling yao niu nai cai

Metaplexis cavaleriei H. Léveillé, Fl. Kouy-Tcheou 42. 1914/15.

Lianas to 6 m, densely velvety. Stems stout, yellowish brown. Petiole 5-9(-12) cm; leaf blade ovate-cordate, 7-18 × 5-16 cm, papery, velvety to subglabrous adaxially, tomentose abaxially, base deeply cordate, with rounded lobes, apex acute; basal veins 3-5(-7), lateral veins 3 or 4 pairs. Inflorescences compound, rounded, 3-5(-15) cm, often shorter than subtending petiole, many flowered; peduncle up to 1 cm. Sepals oblong. Corolla purplish, campanulate to urceolate, pilose outside; tube longer than lobes, ca. 3.5 mm, lower part of interior with 5 longitudinal bands of long hairs; lobes oblong, ca. 2 × 0.8 mm, apex rounded. Corona lobes shorter than anthers, base with an erect, hooklike dorsal spur, apex bluntly acute. Anther appendages ovate-oblong; pollinia oblong. Stigma head conical, shorter than anther appendages. Follicles ovoid-oblong, 7-17 × 1-6 cm. Seeds ovate-oblong; coma ca. 4 × as long as seeds. Fl. Jun-Aug, fr. Sep-Dec.

Open woods; 600-2200 m. Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan [India]

The bark is used in folk medicine for treating pneumonia and tumors in Yunnan and Guangxi.