宁明马蓝 ning ming ma lan

Goldfussia ningmingensis (D. Fang & H. S. Lo) C. Y. Wu ex C. C. Hu.

Herbs or subshrubs, to 40 cm tall, branched, anisophyllous. Stems 4-angled, sulcate, glabrous except for pubescent nodes. Petiole 3-7 cm; leaf blade ovate-elliptic, smaller of pair 1-1.7 × 0.7-1.2 cm and larger one 3-5.5 × 2-3 cm, both surfaces glabrous, abaxially cystoliths prominent, whitish, and dense along veins, adaxially with prominent linear cystoliths, secondary veins 4-6 on each side of midvein, base subrounded, margin serrulate, apex acute to acuminate. Inflorescences axillary or terminal, headlike simple spikes, 3- or 4-flowered; peduncle ca. 3 cm, apically thickened; bracts elliptic, 6-12 mm, caducous, abaxially densely covered with cystoliths, margin ciliate, apex acute; bracteoles linear, ca. 5 × 1 mm, caducous, abaxially sparsely hirsute. Calyx 5-lobed almost to base; lobes oblong-elliptic, 6-7 × ca. 1.5 mm, slightly unequal with one longer than others, outside glabrous, margin ciliate. Corolla purple, ca. 4 cm, ventricose, outside glabrous, inside glabrous except for trichomes retaining style; tube basally cylindric and ca. 2.5 mm wide for ca. 1.2 cm then gradually widened to ca. 1.3 cm at mouth; lobes orbicular, ca. 6 mm in diam., apex emarginate. Stamens 4, included; filaments glabrous; shorter filament pair ca. 3 mm, equal, incurved; longer filament pair 6-8 mm, unequal, erect; anther thecae subspherical, ca. 1.3 mm in diam., nodding. Ovary sparsely gland-tipped pilose at tip; style ca. 3 cm, sparsely gland-tipped pilose at base. Capsule not seen. Fl. Dec.

● Limestone hills; 200-300 m. Guangxi (Ningming).

Known only from the type, Strobilanthes ningmingensis is very close to, and may be conspecific with, the very variable S. dimorphotricha, differing only in the non-glandular calyx, which may be only a development stage.