三脉紫麻 san mai zi ma

Villebrunea trinervis Weddell, Ann. Sci. Nat., Bot., sér. 4, 1: 195. 1854.

Small trees ca. 4 m tall; branchlets sparsely pubescent. Stipules lanceolate, ca. 0.6 cm; petiole 1.5-12 cm, subglabrous; leaf blade broadly ovate to oblong, 9-20 × 4-11 cm, herbaceous, 3-veined, basal-lateral pair reaching apex, anastomosing with basal pair of secondary veins, secondary veins 2-3 pairs, sparsely pubescent abaxially, base obtuse or broadly cuneate, margin entire, apex long caudate-acuminate, 1-3 cm. Inflorescences in axils of fallen leaves and older branches; female ones dichotomously branched 1 or 2 times, 1.2-3.2 cm; glomerules ca. 3 mm in diam. Male flowers: perianth lobes 3. Female flowers ca. 1 mm. Achene ovoid, compressed, ca. 1.5 mm, surrounded by a fleshy discoid cupule at base. Fl. May.

Tropical rain forests, valleys at low elevations. Taiwan (Lan Yu) [Indonesia, Philippines].