屏边连蕊茶 ping bian lian rui cha

Shrubs or trees, 2-6 m tall. Young branches grayish brown; current year branchlets spreading villous and pubescent, indumentum ± persistent. Petiole 3-5 mm, spreading villous and pubescent; leaf blade lanceolate, oblong, or ovate-lanceolate, 5-8.5(-12) × (1.5-)2-3.5 cm, papery, abaxially pale green and sparsely villous but densely villous along midvein, adaxially dark green and hirtellous along midvein, midvein raised on both surfaces, secondary veins 6-8 on each side of midvein and slightly raised on both surfaces, base rounded to obtuse, margin serrulate, apex caudate to acuminate. Flowers axillary, solitary or paired. Pedicel ca. 2 mm; bracteoles 4 or 5, covering pedicel, lunate to semiorbicular, 1-2 mm, glabrous or pubescent. Sepals 5, nearly distinct, orbicular to suborbicular, 2-3.5 mm, glabrous or pubescent, margin ciliolate, apex rounded. Petals 5, white, obovate to broadly obovate, 10-15 × 0.6-0.7 cm, basally connate for 2-3 mm, apex rounded to slightly emarginate. Stamens 0.8-1.3 cm; outer filament whorl basally connate for 5-7 mm, distinct part white pilose. Ovary ovoid, glabrous, 3-loculed; style 0.9-1.2 cm, apically 3-parted for ca. 1 mm. Capsule globose, ca. 1.5 cm in diam., 1-loculed with 1 seed; pericarp thinly leathery, splitting into 3 valves. Seed brown, globose, ca. 1.3 cm in diam. Fl. Oct-Dec, fr. Aug-Sep. 2n = 30.

Forests, thickets; 800-1900 m. Guangxi, SE Guizhou, SE Yunnan [N Vietnam].