桂野桐 gui ye tong

Shrubs 2-3 m tall. Branchlets densely brown stellate pulveraceous tomentose when young. Stipules even obsolete; petiole 5-10 cm, tomentose; leaf blade broadly ovate, undivided, 11-25 × 9-17 cm, papery, adaxially glabrescent, abaxially brown tomentose, sparsely reddish granular-glandular, base obtuse, peltate, with 8 or 9 small basal glands, margin subentire or denticulate, apex acute or acuminate; basal veins 5-7. Flowers not known. Infructescence 15-17 cm, tomentose; bracts subtriangular, 2-3 mm. Fruiting pedicel 3-6 mm; capsule 3-locular, ca. 15 mm in diam., densely stellate-pubescent and softly spiny, forming a continuous uniform layer, spines short, subulate, ca. 3 mm. Seeds ovoid, ca. 5 mm, brown, verruculose. Fr. Aug-Sep.

● Limestone hills, forests; 400-500 m. W Guangxi (Jingxi).