女娄菜 nu lou cai

Hedona ischnopetala F. N. Williams; Melandrium apricum (Turczaninow ex Fischer & C. A. Meyer) Rohrbach; M. apricum subsp. oldhamianum (Miquel) Kitagawa; M. apricum var. oldhamianum (Miquel) Y. C. Chu; M. oldhamianum (Miquel) Rohrbach; Silene aprica var. oldhamiana (Miquel) C. Y. Wu; S. melandriiformis Maximowicz; S. morii Hayata; S. mushaensis Hayata; S. oldhamiana Miquel; S. taquetii H. Léveillé.

Herbs annual or biennial, 30--70 cm tall, densely gray pubescent throughout. Principal roots robust, slightly lignified. Stems erect, simple or branched. Basal leaves oblanceolate or narrowly spatulate, 4--7 cm × 4--8 mm, midvein prominent, base attenuate into long petiole, apex acute; cauline leaves oblanceolate to lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, smaller than basal leaves. Cymules stalked. Pedicel erect, 5--20(--40) mm; bracts lanceolate, herbaceous, ciliate, apex acuminate. Calyx ovoid-campanulate, 6--8 mm, to 1.2 cm in fruit, nearly herbaceous, densely pubescent; longitudinal veins green, cohering at apex; calyx teeth triangular-lanceolate, margin membranous, ciliate. Androgynophore very short or obsolete, pubescent. Petal claws ciliate below; limbs white or pink, oblanceolate, 1--5 mm, subequaling or slightly longer than calyx, bifid; coronal scales ligulate. Stamens and styles included; filaments ciliate at base. Styles 3, shortly hairy at base. Capsule ovoid, 8--9 mm, subequaling or slightly longer than calyx. Seeds gray-brown, globose-reniform, 0.6--0.7 mm, thickened, minutely tuberculate. Fl. May--Jul, fr. Jun--Aug.

Plateaus, downs, mountains. Throughout China [Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Russia].

Silene oldhamiana, described from Ningbo, Zhejiang, has pink petal limbs 4–5 mm long, and may deserve status as an independent taxon. Wu Zhengyi (editor’s note) regards it as a maritime variety of the widespread S. aprica . Silene morii, from Taiwan, was segregated on subtle differences in calyx teeth morphology.