滇南新乌檀 dian nan xin wu tan

Trees, to 30-40 m tall and 1 m d.b.h.; trunk cylindrical, with buttresses; bark rough, with inner bark fibrous, yellow or sometimes with pink; branches flattened to angled, densely lenticellate, glabrescent. Petiole 12-40 mm, stout, glabrous; leaf blade drying leathery, elliptic or ovate-elliptic, 12-22 × 6-13 cm, adaxially glabrous and rather shiny, abaxially glabrous and matte, base broadly obtuse to cuneate, apex acute to shortly acuminate; secondary veins 6 or 8 pairs, with tomentulose to glabrous foveolate domatia in abaxial axils; stipules ovate, 12-24 × 8-14 mm, glabrous, weakly keeled in basal portion, apex obtuse. Inflorescences glabrous; peduncles 1-3, 2-4.5 cm; flowering heads 1-7(or 9), solitary on peduncles or 3-7 in branched cymes, 10-18 mm in diam. across calyces, 25-30 mm in diam. across corollas; involucral bracts not seen; bracteoles conical, 0.7-1 mm. Calyx with ovary portion obconic, 1-1.5 mm, glabrous except puberulent at apex; limb partially lobed, with basal tubular portion 0.8-1 mm; lobes deciduous before corollas open, with shaft clavate, 3-4 mm, densely puberulent except adaxially glabrous in basal portion, apical portion rounded to cucullate, densely puberulent. Corolla pale yellow, funnelform, glabrous; tube 5-6.5 mm; lobes elliptic-oblong, ca. 2.5 × 1.2 mm, apex acute. Stigmas subglobose, ca. 1 mm, exserted for 5-6 mm. Fruiting heads 15-20 mm in diam. Capsules clavate, somewhat flattened, 6-7 mm, glabrous in basal portion, puberulent or pilosulous at apex; seeds unknown. Fl. Sep-Oct, fr. May-Jun.

● Tropical rain forests at streamsides or in bottom of valleys; 500-1100 m. Yunnan.

This species was described almost simultaneously with the publication of Ridsdale’s revision of the genus (Blumea 34: 177-275. 1989) and was not mentioned by him presumably because he was unaware of it.