城口梅花草 cheng kou mei hua cao

Stems 3 or 4, 14-20 cm, with 1 leaf proximally or near middle. Basal leaves 3 or 4; petiole 5-10 cm; leaf blade abaxially pale green, inconspicuously brown punctate, adaxially brown-green, ovate-cordate, 2.5-4.4 × 2.5-4.2 cm, 7-9-veined, base deeply cordate, apex acute. Cauline leaf sessile, semiamplexicaul, similar to basal ones but smaller, base cordate, sometimes with a few rusty brown appendages. Flower ca. 1.5 cm in diam.; hypanthium shortly turbinate. Sepals densely brown punctate, oblong-lanceolate, ca. 5 × 3 mm midvein conspicuous, margin entire, apex acuminate. Petals white, obovate-oblong, ca. 9 × 3.5 mm, base attenuate into a claw ca. 1 mm, margin long fimbriate in proximal 2/3, entire in distal 1/3. Anthers oblong, 0.5-1 mm; filaments ca. 5 mm; staminodes flat, ca. 3 mm, (3-)5-lobed, lobes unequal, with inconspicuous glands at apex. Ovary ovoid; style ca. 1.8 mm; stigma 3-lobed, lobes ovate. Capsule ovoid. Seeds brown, glossy, oblong. Fl. Aug-Sep, fr. Sep.

* Grasslands. NE Sichuan (Chengkou Xian).

In habit, this species resembles Parnassia crassifolia, which differs in having a larger flower, 1.5-2.5 cm in diam., and staminodes 3-lobed to the middle. In leaf shape, P. chengkouensis is similar to P. perciliata, which differs in having a larger flower, 1.5-3 cm in diam., and petal margins long fimbriate throughout.