湖北巴戟 hu bei ba ji

Lianas; branches at base surrounded by persistent leafless stipules, when young densely white hirtellous, white puberulent, ferruginous hirtellous, or glabrescent, becoming angled, purplish blue. Leaves opposite; petiole 4-8 mm, densely hirtellous; blade drying papery, matte on both surfaces, adaxially greenish brown, abaxially coffee-colored or brownish black, oblanceolate, elliptic-lanceolate, elliptic-oblong, or linear-oblong, 5-9 × 1.5-3 cm, adaxially sparsely hispidulous to glabrescent, abaxially ferruginous hirtellous, yellow hirtellous, or brownish gray hirtellous, base cuneate, obtuse, or acute, apex acuminate or sometimes obtuse then abruptly mucronulate; secondary veins 5-7 pairs, with pilosulous domatia; stipules frequently deciduous through fragmentation, fused into a tube or spathe, 2.5-5 mm, pilosulous to hirtellous, truncate, on each side with 2 bristles 0.2-0.5 mm. Inflorescence terminal; peduncles 4-9, fasciculate to umbellate, 5-15 mm, densely puberulent to pilosulous, as a group subtended at base by 1-4 stipuliform bracts; heads 1 per peduncle, 4-7-flowered. Flowers with hypanthia partially fused, biology not noted. Calyx puberulent to glabrescent; limb reduced, truncate or sinuate-undulate. Corolla white; tube ca. 2.5 mm, densely villous inside; lobes 4 or 5, ca. 2.5 mm. Drupecetum subglobose, 4-10 mm in diam. Drupes fully fused, red, subglobose, 4-5 mm. Fl. Jul-Aug, fr. Oct-Nov.

● Forests, thickets at forest margins; 400-1000 m. Fujian, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan.