政和杏 zheng he xing

Trees 35–40 m tall, erect. Bark dark brown, somewhat smooth, flaking into pieces. Older branchlets grayish brown; younger branchlets reddish brown, smooth, pubescent, with dense and transverse lenticels; new shoots reddish brown on exposed side, green on opposite side. Petiole red, 1.3–1.5 cm, usually glabrous, with 2–4(–6) nectaries apically from middle; leaf blade elliptic to oblong, 7.5–15 × 3.5–4.5 cm, abaxially densely grayish villous, adaxially green and pilose on veins, base mostly truncate to rarely rounded, margin irregularly minutely gland-tipped serrate, apex acuminate to long caudate; midvein adaxially red or sometimes white. Flowers usually solitary, opening before leaves, ca. 3 cm in diam. Pedicel yellowish green, 3–4 mm, glabrous. Hypanthium basally green, apically reddish, campanulate, outside glabrous. Sepals purplish red, ligulate, reflexed after anthesis, outside glabrous. Petals white, elliptic, 1.3–1.5 × 0.8–0.9 cm, base shortly unguiculate, apex obtuse. Stamens 25–30, longer than petals. Drupe yellow, tinged red on exposed side, ovoid-globose, slightly pubescent; mesocarp succulent, sweet, adnate to endocarp and not splitting along suture when ripe; endocarp yellowish brown, narrowly ellipsoid, compressed laterally, 2–2.5 cm, ventral and dorsal ribs obtuse, rarely without lateral ribs, with a deep furrow running from apex to base, surface scabrous and shallowly reticulate but not pitted, base symmetric, apex obtuse. Seed compressed ellipsoid, bitter. Fl. Mar–Apr, fr. Jun–Jul.

Mountain regions; 700--1000 m. N Fujian (Zhenghe Xian).