细毛巴戟 xi mao ba ji

Lianas or subshrubs, 2-10 m tall; branches when young sparsely hirtellous, becoming subglabrous, weakly angled, brown or pale brownish purple. Leaves opposite; petiole ca. 4 mm, hirtellous or pilosulous; blade drying papery, adaxially shiny and dark brownish red or yellowish brown, abaxially pale brownish red or brownish yellow, oblong-lanceolate, linear-lanceolate, or ovate-oblong, 7-13 × 2-4 cm, adaxially glabrous or sometimes sparsely hirtellous when young, abaxially glabrous, base cuneate or rounded, apex acute to acuminate; secondary veins 5 or 6 pairs; stipules fused into a tube, ca. 4 mm, subtruncate. Inflorescence terminal; peduncles 2-5, umbellate, 7-11 mm; heads 1 per peduncle, 3- to many flowered. Flowers fused at base, biology not noted. Calyx limb reduced, truncate. Corolla white, campanulate to weakly urceolate, outside glabrous; tube ca. 1.2 mm, inside densely bearded; lobes 4 or 5, linear, ca. 2 mm. Drupecetum subglobose, 5-10 mm in diam. Drupes fully fused, red. Fl. May-Jun, fr. Oct-Nov.

● Forests in valleys or on mountains, thickets at watersides. Guangdong, Guizhou, Hunan.

The roots were described by Y. Z. Ruan as irregularly intestine-like constricted, with fleshy cortex.