倒卵叶山柑 dao luan ye shan gan

Replaced synonym: Capparis acutifolia Sweet subsp. obovata Jacobs, Blumea 12: 433. 1965, not Capparis obovata Buchanan-Hamilton ex Candolle, Prodr. 1: 248. 1824.

Shrubs [rarely trees or vines], 1.5-2.5(-6) m tall. Stem with stipular spines; branches spineless or with small recurved stipular spines up to 2 mm; new twigs rust-colored, densely tomentose, soon glabrescent, without or with tiny stipular spines. Petiole 3-6 mm, trichomes like those on new branches; leaf blade obovate, broadest at or slightly above middle, 7-11 × 3-5 cm, 1.8-2.3 × as long as wide, herbaceous and glabrescent when old, dark green when dry, midvein abaxially slightly raised and adaxially often impressed from central part basally, secondary veins 4 or 5(or 6) on each side of midvein and raised on both surfaces, reticulate veins ± obvious, base cuneate, apex abruptly acuminate and with a 0.6-1 cm tip. Inflorescences superaxillary rows, 2-5-flowered. Pedicel (1-)1.4-1.8 cm, with proximal ones shortest. Sepals broadly elliptic, 5-6 × ca. 3 mm, ± equal, outside glabrous, inside shortly tomentose, margin ciliate, apex obtuse. Petals white, obovate, 7-10 × 2.5-3 mm, outside glabrescent, inside tomentose, margin hyaline. Stamens 20-28(-35); filaments 2-2.5 cm; anthers ca. 1 mm. Gynophore (1.2-)1.7-2.3 cm; ovary ovoid, ca. 1 mm, 1-loculed; placentae 2. Fruit black to purplish black, globose, ca. 1.2 cm in diam., barely scabrous; stipe ca. 0.5 mm thick. Seeds 3 per fruit, brown, ca. 5 × 4 × 3 mm, smooth. Fl. ?Jan-Mar, fr. ?Mar-Jul.

Roadsides, thickets; below 400 m. Hainan [Myanmar, Thailand, N Vietnam].

This rare taxon is reported here for the first time from China (Hainan, Liu 823, MO); this is also the first fruiting specimen.