黄连山马蓝 huang lian shan ma lan

Subshrubs to 50 cm tall, anisophyllous. Stems to 5 mm in diam., young part sulcate and angled, subglabrous apart from pubescent at nodes, basally woody. Leaves petiolate or apically subsessile; petiole (0.5-)1.3-2.3(-2.5) cm, glabrous; leaf blade ovate, smaller of pair 4-7 × 2-3.5 cm and larger one 9-15 × 3-6 cm, both surfaces glabrous, adaxially with prominent cystoliths, secondary veins 5 or 6 on each side of midvein, base cuneate and decurrent onto petiole, margin serrate, apex acuminate. Inflorescences terminal, spikes, 4-9 cm; rachis 4-angled, gland-tipped pilose; bracts ovate, ca. 8 × 5 mm, deciduous as flowers open, abaxially sparsely gland-tipped pilose, adaxially glabrous, apex rounded; bracteoles absent. Calyx 1-1.6 cm; lobes linear-oblong, 8-16 × 1-2 mm, unequal with one distinctly longer than others, gland-tipped pilose, margin entire and ciliate, apex acute. Corolla color not noted, probably bluish, ca. 2.5 cm, straight, outside pubescent in bud but soon glabrescent, inside glabrous; tube basally cylindric and ca. 2 mm wide for ca. 1 cm then gradually widened to ca. 8 mm at mouth; lobes orbicular, ca. 3 × 3 mm, apex obtuse. Stamens 4, included; filaments pilose, shorter pair ca. 5 mm, longer pair ca. 2 cm; anther thecae oblong, ca. 2 × 1 mm; pollen type 3. Ovary ca. 2.5 × 0.8 mm, glabrous except for a few gland-tipped pilose trichomes at tip; style ca. 2 cm, glabrous. Capsule oblong, 1.5-2 × 0.3-0.4 cm, glabrous except for a few gland-tipped pilose trichomes at tip and along ribs toward tip, 4-seeded. Seeds ovate to suborbicular in outline, ca. 3 × 3 mm, pilose. Fl. Aug-Oct.

● Moist places in forests; 1200-2400 m. Yunnan.