野芝麻马蓝 ye zhi ma ma lan

Pteracanthus lamium (C. B. Clarke ex W. W. Smith) C. Y. Wu & C. C. Hu.

Herbs 30-80 cm tall, unbranched, anisophyllous. Stems 4-angled, sulcate, basally glabrescent, apically whitish gland-tipped pubescent. Leaves apically denser; petiole 3-10 mm, hirsute; leaf blade ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 4-5 × 2.5-3 cm, both surfaces with very small conspicuous cystoliths, abaxially paler, sparsely pilose, and setose along veins, adaxially dark green, sparsely hirsute, and yellowish brown setose along midvein, secondary veins 7 or 8 on each side of midvein, base broadly cuneate and decurrent onto petiole, margin coarsely serrate, apex acute. Inflorescences terminal, subcapitate spikes, 3-5 cm, 4-8-flowered; bracts oblong to lanceolate, resembling reduced leaves, 1.4-1.6 × 0.6-0.7 cm, persistent, abaxially hirsute especially on veins; bracteoles narrowly oblong-elliptic, ca. 1.2 cm, abaxially gland-tipped pilose. Flowers imbricate on rachis. Calyx ca. 1.1 cm, gland-tipped pilose, 5-lobed almost to base; lobes linear-lanceolate, subequal, pilose, apex acute. Corolla purple, ca. 3.5 cm, bent at mouth, outside sparsely pilose, inside glabrous except for trichomes retaining style; tube basally cylindric and ca. 2 mm wide for ca. 6 mm then gradually widened to ca. 1 cm at mouth; lobes orbicular, ca. 6 mm in diam. Stamens 4, included; filaments densely pilose, shorter pair ca. 5 mm, longer pair ca. 7 mm; anther thecae oblong, ca. 2.3 × 1.3 mm, erect. Ovary pilose at tip; style pilose. Capsule not seen. Fl. Jul-Aug.

● Forests, slopes; 800-1500 m. Chongqing, Hubei, Hunan.