方鼎蛇根草 fang ding she gen cao

Herbs, weak at base, ascending above, to 40 cm tall; stems subterete, drying brown, subglabrous. Leaves in unequal pairs; petiole 0.5-2 cm, glabrous; blade drying papery, adaxially leaden gray, abaxially pale with veins brown, oblong-ovate or oblong-lanceolate, larger ones 5-7.5 cm, smaller ones 2-5 cm, glabrous on both surfaces, base subcuneate and somewhat inequilateral, margins subentire, apex obtuse then acuminate; secondary veins 5-10 pairs; stipules caducous, not seen. Inflorescences 4- or 5-flowered; peduncle ca. 1 cm; axes short, helicoid; bracteoles linear or narrowly lanceolate, 10-18 × 1.5-4 mm, obtuse, costate. Flowers reportedly distylous, with short pedicels. Calyx glabrous; hypanthium turbinate, ca. 1.2 mm, 5-ribbed; lobes linear-lanceolate, ± unequal, 2-3 mm, obtuse. Corolla white, funnelform, glabrous outside; tube ca. 23 mm, white villous above middle inside; lobes dorsally narrowly winged, wing extending into very short horn. Capsules not seen. Fl. Jan.

● Wet places in forests on limestone; ca. 1200 m. Guangxi (Napo).

In the original description (Bull. Bot. Res., Harbin 10(2): 40, 42. 1990, not validly published) and FRPS (71(1): 144. 1999), H. S. Lo described this species as distylous but described only the putative long-styled flowers; these resemble the long-styled form of distylous species in having the stigmas exserted and the anthers positioned below them in the upper part of the corolla tube.