短蕊八月瓜 duan rui ba yue gua

Stems grayish white, young shoots green, twining. Petiole 2--6.5 cm; leaf blade pinnately 3-foliolate; petiolules (1--)2.5--4 cm; leaflets ovate to ovate-elliptic, rarely obovate, 6--12 × 2.7--5.5 cm, papery, abaxially light green, adaxially dark green, base subrounded, apex acuminate; primary veins 3, abaxially slightly conspicuous. Racemes fascicled, 5--12 cm, androgynous with 4 or 5 male and 1 or 2 female flowers. Flowers white, mildly fragrant. Male flowers: sepals equal in size, narrowly elliptic, 16--18 × 3--5 mm. Petals obovate, less than 1 mm. Stamens 4--5 mm; filaments free; anthers ca. 3 mm; connective apical appendage ca. 0.5 mm. Pistillodes 3, ca. 1.5 mm. Female flowers: sepals fleshy; outer 3 sepals elliptic, 2--3 × 0.7--0.8 cm; inner 3 sepals narrowly elliptic. Petals less than 1 mm. Staminodes 6, opposite petals, ca. 1 mm; connective apical appendage apiculate. Carpels free, ellipsoid, ca. 5 mm. Stigma sessile, capitate. Fruit unknown. Fl. Apr.

* Evergreen forest margins along valleys, climbing on small trees; 1500--1600 m. SE Yunnan (Xichou Xian).