水皮莲 shui pi lian

Menyanthes cristata Roxburgh, Pl. Coromandel 2: 3. 1798.

Rhizomes horizontal. Stems cylindric, unbranched, with a terminal leaf. Petiole cylindric, 1-3 cm; leaf blade ovate-orbicular to suborbicular, 3-10 cm, subcoriaceous, abaxially densely glandular, base cordate, margin entire, veins indistinct. Flowers many, grouped on nodes, 5merous. Pedicel cylindric, 3-4.5 cm. Calyx 3-5.5 mm, lobed to near base; lobes ovate-elliptic to ovate, apex obtuse. Corolla white with a yellow center, 4-8 mm; lobes ovate with a keeled fold from base to apex, apex obtuse. Filaments linear, 1-2 mm; anthers 0.8-1 mm. Style short; stigma lobes triangular. Capsules subglobose, 3-5 mm in diam., few seeded. Seeds light brown, globose, 1.3-1.5 mm in diam.; seed coat smooth or scabrous. Fl. and fr. Sep. 2n = 18.

Standing water. Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Sichuan, Taiwan [E India].