离根香 li gen xiang

Basionym: Calogyne chinensis Bentham, J. Proc. Linn. Soc., Bot. 5: 78. 1860; Calogyne pilosa R. Brown subsp. chinensis (Bentham) H. S. Kiu.

Herbs, perennial, erect. Stems slender, branched, single or several and caespitose, 5-15 cm tall but sometimes decumbent after anthesis, basally glabrous, apically sparsely hirsute. Basal leaves several; petiole to 1.5 cm; leaf blade long elliptic to linear-oblong, 2-5 × 0.3-0.6 cm, sparsely hirsute only along main vein on abaxial side and on margin, margin sparsely triangular serrate. Basal cauline leaves with a shorter petiole; leaf blade similar to but smaller than basal leaves. Apical cauline leaves sessile; leaf blade similar in shape to but smaller than more basal leaves, often less than 1 cm. Flowers axillary, solitary, each cauline leaf with a flower but sometimes branches short and multiflowered to almost becoming a raceme. Pedicel 2-8 mm, slender, sparsely hirsute. Calyx tube ca. 2 mm, densely hirsute; lobes linear-lanceolate, ca. 4 mm. Corolla purple outside with bright brownish shade and inside yellow with orange spots, ca. 8 mm. Stamens ca. 3 mm; anthers mucronate at apex. Capsule ovoid-globose, ca. 3 mm in diam., with 5 seeds. Seeds ovoid, ca. 4 × 2 mm. Fl. and fr. Nov-Mar.

Paddy fields, grassy areas in forests or on hillsides; below 100 m. Fujian (Jinmen Dao, Xiamen), Guangdong (Huilai, Raoping), Guangxi (Fangcheng, Hepu), Hainan (Ding’an, Qionghai, Sanya) [Vietnam].

The typical subspecies is an annual herb that occurs in tropical Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines.