微脉冬青 wei mai dong qing

Trees or shrubs, evergreen, (2-)15 m tall, glabrous throughout; bark pale black-brown. Branchlets brown or black-brown, terete; current year’s branchlets finely angular; second year’s branchlets fissured, lenticels pale, elliptic; leaf scars semicircular, convex; terminal buds ovoid-conical, small. Stipules deltoid, ca. 1 mm, apically acute; petiole terete, 1.5-2.5 cm, rather thick, abaxially rugose, adaxially narrowly sulcate; leaf blade olivaceous or brown-olivaceous, oblong-elliptic or ovate, 9-19 × 3-6.5 cm, leathery, midvein narrowly impressed adaxially, lateral veins 15-22 pairs, raised on both surfaces, parallel, furcate and anastomosing near margin, reticulate veins raised abaxially, flattened and evident adaxially, base rounded or obtuse, margin entire, apex caudate-acuminate, acumen long, 2-3 cm. Inflorescences: cymes or compound cymes, pseudopaniculate or rarely fasciculate, axillary on second year’s branchlets, very rarely solitary at base of new branchlets; rachis 4-30 mm. Male inflorescences: cymes of order 4, or compound cymes with cymules of order 3; peduncles 7-11 mm, slightly flattened, longitudinally rugose; basal bracts broadly deltoid; secondary axis 1-3 mm; pedicels 1-2 mm; bracteoles 2, basal; flowers white or yellow, 5- or 6-merous; calyx patelliform, 2-3 mm in diam., lobes ovate-deltoid, ca. 0.5 × 1 mm, margin slightly erose, ciliate, apex obtuse; corolla rotate, ca. 6 mm in diam., petals oblong, ca. 2.5 × 1.5 mm, basally slightly connate, apex rounded; stamens slightly shorter than petals, anthers oblong-ovoid; rudimentary ovary subglobose, apex obtuse. Female inflorescences: cymes of order 3, or compound cymes with cymules of order 2; peduncles (2-)5-7(-12) mm; pedicels 2-3 mm; calyx as in male flowers; corolla erect, 3-4 mm in diam., petals obovate, ca. 1.5 mm, basally slightly connate; staminodes ca. 1/3 as long as petals, sterile anthers cordate; ovary ovoid-globose, ca. 1.5 mm, stigma capitate, 5-7-lobed. Fruit red, globose, 3-4 mm in diam.; persistent calyx explanate, ca. 3 mm in diam.; persistent stigma navel-like or thinly discoid; pyrenes 5-7, oblong-ovoid, ca. 2 mm, ca. 1 mm in diam., trigonous in cross section, abaxially 3-striate, striae slightly raised, sometimes branched, laterally smooth, endocarp leathery. Fl. Feb-Apr, fr. Jun-Dec. 2n = 40.

Forests, mountain slopes; 900-2700 m. S and SW Yunnan [Bangladesh, Bhutan, NE India, N Myanmar].

Lower Taxa

• Ilex venulosa var. simplicifrons S. Y. Hu
• Ilex venulosa var. venulosa