保亭耳草 bao ting er cao

Little branched herbs, prostrate, 40-60 cm tall; stems terete to flattened, scabrous. Leaves petiolate, often congested and appearing verticillate at top of stem; petiole 10-15 mm; blade drying papery, elliptic, elliptic-oblong, ovate, or obovate, 4-13 × 3-6 cm, adaxially glabrous, abaxially sparsely hirtellous at least along veins, base obtuse then decurrent, apex obtuse then sometimes abruptly and shortly acute; secondary veins 5-12 pairs; stipules narrowly triangular, long acuminate, marginally erose. Inflorescence and flowers unknown. Infructescence terminal, capitate, subglobose, 2-2.5 cm in diam., sessile. Fruit indehiscent, sessile or subsessile, globose or ellipsoid, 1-1.5 mm in diam., pilosulous; persistent calyx lobes narrowly spatulate-oblong, narrowly lanceolate, or linear, 5-5.5 mm, striate; seeds 3 or 4, black, angled. Fr. Oct.

● Broad-leaved forests on shady slopes. Hainan (Baoting).