西江秋海棠 xi jiang qiu hai tang

Herbs, dwarf. Stem prostrate at base, ca. 13 cm tall, slender. Leaves cauline; stipules oblong or oblong-lanceolate, 4.5-8 × 1.8-2 mm, membranous, margin and outside hairy, apex aristate; petiole 5-6 cm, densely brown hairy; blade oblong-ovate, asymmetric, 11.5-12.5 × 6-7.5 cm, thickly papery, abaxially densely villous on veins, adaxially sparsely hirsute, venation palmate-pinnate, 7-veined, base obliquely cordate, margin densely serrulate, apex shortly acuminate. Inflorescences with several flowers; peduncle pubescent; bracts oblong or linear-lanceolate, 3-6 mm, membranous, outside pilose, margin villous; staminate flowers: pedicel 1-1.5 cm; tepals 4, outer 2 broadly ovate, 6-8 × 4.8-7 mm, abaxially hairy, inner 2 broadly elliptic, 5.6-7.5 × 3-4 mm, abaxially pilose; stamens numerous; filaments 1-1.5 mm, fused to ca. 1 mm below; anthers obovoid-globose, 0.4-0.5 mm, apex emarginate. Pistillate flowers not seen. Capsule suborbicular, ca. 7 × 5 mm, pilose, 3-loculed; unequally 3-winged; abaxial wing ca. 2.5 × 3 mm; lateral wings shorter; placentae axile, bilamellate. Fl. Aug.

● Guangdong (Xinyi).

This is a rarely collected species with very few specimens available for examination.