松林马蓝 song lin ma lan

Diflugossa pinetorum (W. W. Smith) C. Y. Wu & C. C. Hu.

Subshrubs to 1 m tall, much branched, anisophyllous. Stems erect, glabrous or subglabrous. Petiole (0-)1-2 cm, subglabrous, winged; leaf blade broadly ovate to suborbicular, smaller of pair 2-3 × 1-1.5 cm and larger one 6-10 × 3.5-5 cm, both surfaces with prominent cystoliths, abaxially olive-green and glabrous, adaxially dark green and sparsely pilose but soon glabrescent, secondary veins 5 or 6 on each side of midvein, base subrounded to broadly cuneate and abruptly decurrent onto petiole or cordate for apical leaves, margin serrate, apex long acuminate. Inflorescences axillary or terminal, simple or branched spikes, to 10 cm; sterile bracts leaflike, sessile, ovate, 1-5 × 0.7-3.5 cm, base cordate, apex shortly acuminate; floral bracts ovate-oblong, 7-11 × 2-3 mm; bracteoles linear-lanceolate, ca. 6 × 1 mm, glabrous, apex obtuse. Calyx ca. 7 mm, glabrous, 5-lobed almost to base; lobes linear-oblong, ca. 6 × 1 mm, apex obtuse. Corolla whitish purple, ca. 4 cm, curved, ventricose, outside glabrous; tube basally cylindric and ca. 2 mm wide for ca. 1.3 cm then curved and gradually widened to ca. 1.2 cm at mouth; lobes orbicular, ca. 4 × 4 mm. Stamens 4, included; filaments subglabrous, shorter pair ca. 4 mm, longer pair ca. 7 mm; anther thecae oblong, ca. 2 × 1.5 mm; pollen type 5. Ovary pilose at tip; style ca. 3.2 cm, apically sparsely hirsute. Capsule not seen. Fl. Jun.

● Forests; ca. 2000 m. Yunnan (Tengchong).

Strobilanthes pinetorum is only known from the type, which is distinctive but very immature.