斑叶离蕊茶 ban ye li rui cha

Shrubs or trees, 2-5 m tall. Young branches brown, glabrescent; current year branchlets grayish yellow pubescent. Petiole 3-5 mm, pubescent; leaf blade oblong-elliptic, elliptic, or ovate, 5-9 × 2-3.5 cm, leathery, abaxially pale green, brown glandular punctate, and sparsely appressed villous when young but later glabrescent, adaxially dark green and shiny but hirtellous along midvein, midvein abaxially elevated and adaxially raised, secondary veins ca. 7 on each side of midvein, abaxially raised, and adaxially slightly raised, base broadly cuneate to obtuse, margin serrulate, apex bluntly acute. Flowers axillary or subterminal, solitary, subsessile. Bracteoles and sepals ca. 9, leathery, margin membranous; outer 4 bracteoles and sepals bracteolate, semiorbicular to broadly ovate, 2-2.5 mm, outside gray pubescent, inside yellowish sericeous; inner 5 bracteoles and sepals ± persistent, sepaloid, broadly elliptic, 6-7 mm, outside gray pubescent, inside yellowish sericeous. Petals ca. 7, white; outer 2 petals small; inner 5 petals obovate-elliptic, 9-11 × 6-7 mm, base slightly connate. Stamens ca. 8 mm; filaments glabrous; outer filament whorl basally connate for ca. 3 mm. Ovary globose, densely tomentose, 3-loculed; styles 3, distinct, glabrous. Capsule reddish when mature, oblate, ca. 2 × 3-3.5 cm, 3-loculed with 2 seeds per locule; pericarp 5-7 mm thick, splitting into 3 valves; columella persistent. Seeds brown, semiglobose, 1.2-1.5 cm in diam., pubescent. Fl. Feb-Mar, fr. Oct.

● Forests on mountain slopes or in valleys; 700-2000 m. SW Yunnan.