百勒花 bai le hua

Acanthus maderaspatensis Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 639. 1753; Blepharis boerhaviifolia Persoon, nom. illeg. superfl.; B. boerhaviifolia var. maderaspatensis (Linnaeus) Nees.

Herbs to 30 cm tall, perennial. Stems trailing or scrambling to decumbent, sometimes elongate, scabrous or pubescent. Leaves usually 4 per pseudo-whorl of 2 unequal pairs; petiole ca. 2 mm, puberulent; leaf blade elliptic to obovate-lanceolate, 2.5-5 × 1-2 cm, puberulent, secondary veins 3-5 on each side of midvein, base cuneate, margin undulate or dentate, apex acute. Flowers axillary and solitary or in clusters of few-flowered spikes; bracts paired, broadly spatulate to obovate-oblong, 4-13 × 2-6 mm, unequal with inner pairs larger than outer ones, strongly 3-veined, margin bristly ciliate. Calyx puberulent, unequally lobed; posterior and anterior lobes oblong, 1.2-1.8 × 0.4-0.6 cm, 3-veined, apex of anterior lobe often 2-cleft; lateral lobes linear-lanceolate, 9-12 × 2-3 mm, margin ciliate. Corolla whitish, often with pink or purple; lip obovate, 1.6-1.7 × ca. 0.8 cm, spreading; lobes ovate-oblong. Staminal filaments ca. 5 mm. Style ca. 1.2 cm. Capsule ellipsoid, ca. 8 mm, glabrous. Seeds ca. 3 × 2 mm. Fl. Dec. 2n = 16, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30.

Limestone cliffs or rocks; ca. 800 m. Hainan [Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam; tropical and subtropical Africa, SW Asia, Madagascar].