华南马蓝 hua nan ma lan

Herbs to 50 cm, perennial, drying a distinct dark green color, isophyllous. Stems basally procumbent and rooting at nodes but eventually ascending, sulcate, bifariously pubescent especially apically, with reflexed whitish large-celled trichomes. Petiole 0-2 cm, bifariously hirsute with reflexed whitish large-celled trichomes; leaf blade elliptic to suborbicular, 2-8 × 1-4.5 cm, abaxially pilose along veins, adaxially pilose and hirsute especially toward base and densely covered with white cystoliths, secondary veins 3-5 on each side of midvein, base attenuate, margin serrate but becoming subentire toward base, apex acute to obtuse. Inflorescences terminal, headlike spikes, 1-2 cm, often elongating at maturity, leafy, few flowered; rachis densely whitish pilose; bracts shortly petiolate, leaflike, broadly obovate-spatulate, 1.5-1.8 × 0.5-0.8 cm, abaxially densely covered with whitish multicellular trichomes toward base, adaxially subglabrous, margin basally entire and apically 1-3-dentate, apex rounded to obtuse; bracteoles spatulate, 8-11 × 1-2.5 mm, abaxially toward base densely covered with whitish multicellular large-celled trichomes, adaxially whitish pilose. Calyx 1-1.2 cm, 5-lobed almost to base; lobes oblong-lanceolate, outside pilose, inside subglabrous, midvein prominent, margin ciliate with thick white apically spreading cilia, apex obtuse. Corolla bluish purple, funnel-shaped, 2.2-2.8 cm, ventricose, straight to slightly curved, outside pilose when young but glabrescent, inside glabrous except for trichomes retaining style; tube basally cylindric and ca. 2 mm wide for 1.2-1.5 cm then gradually widened to ca. 1.5 cm at mouth; lobes ovate-elliptic, ca. 5 mm. Stamens 4, included; filaments hirsute, shorter pair ca. 6 mm, longer pair ca. 8 mm; anther thecae oblong, ca. 1.2 × 0.4 mm; pollen type 10. Ovary ovoid, ca. 2 mm, glabrous except for comose tip; style ca. 1.5 cm, hirsute; stigma unequally 2-cleft. Capsule oblong, 9-10 × ca. 3 mm, glabrous except for pilose tip and along suture, 4-seeded. Seeds ovate in outline, ca. 2.5 × 2 mm, densely pilose; areola small, glabrous. Fl. Jul-Sep, fr. Oct-Nov.

● Thickets, forest margins; 100-1500 m. Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Jiangxi.