序托冷水花 xu tuo leng shui hua

Herbs subglabrous, monoecious. Stems light green or purplish, almost simple, 25-40 cm tall, 2-3 mm in diam., succulent; internodes 2.5-8 cm. Stipules persistent, greenish, ovate-oblong, 6-9 mm, membranous, obtuse at apex; petiole subequal in length, 1-5 cm, sparsely puberulent above; leaf blade abaxially pale green, adaxially dark green with 2 broad, interrupted, white stripes along midvein, ovate to lanceolate, subequal in size, 6-9 × 2.5-3.5 cm, 3-veined, base-lateral ones reaching margin at middle, anastomosing with adjacent lateral veins, lateral secondary veins 7-10 each side, reticulate, abaxial surface glabrous, adaxial surface sparsely pilose, with minute, linear, often inconspicuous cystoliths, base rounded or broadly cuneate, rarely emarginate, margin denticulate or sparsely ciliate, apex acuminate or long acuminate, proximal leaves acute or obtuse. Male inflorescences solitary, often with female inflorescence in same axil, flowers crowded on bracteate, conspicuous fleshy cupulate receptacles, 0.4-0.8 cm in diam., pedunculate, rarely without receptacle; bracts triangular-ovate, ca. 1.2 mm; female inflorescence a compactly clustered cyme, peduncle 0.5-1.2 cm. Male flowers yellow-green, long pedicellate, in bud ca. 1.5 mm; perianth lobes ovate-oblong, connate 1/2 of length, subapically corniculate, with sparse cystoliths; rudimentary ovary minute. Achene ovoid, ca. 1 mm, slightly compressed, oblique at apex, with several concentric colored circles on both sides. Fl. Jun-Aug, fr. Jul-Sep.

* Shaded moist places in forests, near streams, roadsides; 600-2000 m. W Hubei, S Shaanxi, E Sichuan.