丽江拉拉藤 li jiang la la teng

Herbs, perennial, 15-25 cm tall. Stems little branched, 4-angled, ± retrorsely strigose hairy. Leaves in whorls of 4, subsessile or shortly petiolate; blade rather subleathery, pale abaxially, ovate-elliptic, 8-12 × 3-5 mm, strigose to hirsute, abaxially yellowish brown glandular-punctate or striate, base cuneate, apex acute or apiculate; principal vein 1, 2 lateral veins weak. Inflorescences terminal, corymbiform, with terminal and axillary several-flowered and somewhat bracteate cymes; pedicels ca. 1.5 mm. Ovary obovoid, hispidulous. Flowers ca. 2.8 mm in diam., probably sexually differentiated (dioecious or polygamo-dioecious?). Corolla yellowish green, dark brown when dry, rotate, lobed for 3/4 or more; lobes 4, subovate, apiculate at apex. Fruit unknown, but probably with uncinate trichomes. Fl. Jun-Aug.

● Meadows on mountain slopes; 3000-3200 m. Sichuan (Yajiang), Yunnan (Lijiang).

Because of its uncertain fruit indumentum, Galium forrestii is in need of further studies. We have not seen authentic material but agree with Cufodontis (Oesterr. Bot. Z. 89: 232. 1940) that it is obviously close (or even identical?) with G. glandulosum and/or G. hirtiflorum. Their characteristic stem indumentum and other similarities link these taxa as members of the G. hirtiflorum group within G. sect. Platygalium s.l. (see under G. hirtiflorum).