云南连蕊茶 yun nan lian rui cha

Shrubs or trees, 1-6(-8) m tall. Older branches grayish brown, bark splitting longitudinally, exfoliating, and becoming smooth and gray; current year branchlets densely shortly pubescent to hispidulous, indumentum persisting through second year. Petiole 2-4 mm, densely shortly pubescent to hispidulous; leaf blade elliptic, elliptic-ovate, ovate, or oblong-ovate, 2-7 × 1-2.5 cm, leathery to thinly leathery, abaxially pale green and sparsely pubescent but with a dense indumentum along midvein or glabrescent, adaxially dark green and hirtellous along midvein, midvein raised on both surfaces, secondary veins obscure to slightly raised on both surfaces, base rounded to obtuse, margin serrulate to crenulate-serrulate, apex broadly obtuse, bluntly acute, or bluntly acuminate. Flowers axillary, solitary or paired, 1.5-2.5 cm in diam. Pedicel 2-4.5 mm, thickened toward apex; bracteoles 3 or 4, persistent, semiorbicular, triangular-ovate, or broadly ovate, 1-2 mm, outside glabrous, margin ciliolate, apex rounded, obtuse, or acute. Calyx cupular, 5-6 mm; lobes 5, persistent, unequal, semiorbicular, broadly ovate, triangular-ovate, or long ovate, 2.5-10 mm, leathery, outside glabrous or apically pubescent, inside puberulent, margin membranous, apex rounded, obtuse, or acute. Petals 5 or 6, white but sometimes pink or purplish red in bud, broadly obovate, unequal, 0.6-1.5 cm, basally connate for ca. 2 mm, apex rounded to retuse. Stamens 0.9-1.2 cm, glabrous; outer filament whorl basally connate for 2-3.5(-5) mm. Ovary ovoid, 1-2 mm in diam., glabrous, 3-loculed; style 0.8-1.2 cm, apically 3-parted for 2.5-5 mm. Capsule ovoid, 1.2-1.5 cm in diam., 1-loculed with 1 seed, apex convex; pericarp ca. 1 mm thick, leathery. Seed brown, globose, ca. 1 cm in diam., smooth. Fl. Nov-May, fr. Sep-Oct. 2n = 30, 60, 90.

Forests, thickets; (1200-)1600-2900(-3200) m. Yunnan [N Vietnam].