17. Mussaenda laxiflora Hutchinson in Sargent, Pl. Wilson. 3: 399. 1916.
疏花玉叶金花 shu hua yu ye jin hua
Shrubs, to 3 m tall; branches terete, densely strigillose, strigose, or appressed tomentose. Leaves opposite; petiole 4-10 mm, densely strigillose or appressed tomentulose; blade drying papery, elliptic, obovate, or obovate-oblanceolate, 6.5-14 × 2.5-5 cm, adaxially sparsely strigillose especially along veins, abaxially densely strigillose to strigose along veins and glabrescent on lamina, base cuneate, apex caudate to acuminate; secondary veins 6-9 pairs, apparently without domatia, tertiary venation visible and subparallel; stipules deciduous, 4-8 mm, densely strigillose, deeply 2-lobed, lobes narrowly triangular, acute. Inflorescences congested to laxly cymose, 2-5 × 3-7 cm, densely strigose to strigillose, pedunculate or sessile and tripartite; peduncle 20-25 mm; bracts linear, 1-10, usually caducous; pedicels 1-5 mm. Flowers pedicellate in umbelliform groups of 2 or 3, biology not noted. Calyx moderately to densely strigose; hypanthium portion narrowly ellipsoid to turbinate, ca. 3 mm; lobes linear to narrowly triangular, 5-7 mm, with 1 lobe in 1-3 flowers per inflorescence sometimes expanded into calycophyll, blade lanceolate or ovate, 3.5-7 × 1.5-2.5 cm, sparsely strigillose with pubescence usually denser on veins, base cuneate to obtuse, stipe 10-12 mm, apex acute to subacuminate. Corolla yellow or orange-yellow, salverform, outside densely sericeous; tube 26-30 mm, inside densely yellow clavate pubescent in upper part; lobes triangular-lanceolate, 3-4 mm, adaxially densely yellow papillose, acuminate to long acuminate. Berry ellipsoid, ca. 1 cm, sparsely pubescent. Fl. Jun-Jul, fr. Aug-Dec.
● Forests, thickets; ca. 1600 m. Yunnan.