I.C. Hedge
Pseudolophanthus Levin
High-alpine, herbaceous perennials with a creeping woody rootstock, of a scree habit. Stems short, densely leafy, sometimes with imbricate leaves, pilose with simple eglandular or glandular hairs, mostly unbranched. Leaves not divided, sessile or petiolate, ± orbicular to reniform. Flowers in axils of middle and upper leaves, resupinate (or not?) solitary or few on short peduncles. Bracts entire, shorter than calyces. Calyx tubular, 15-nerved, curved or ± straight, obliquely bilabiate or bilabiate; upper lip deeply 3-toothed; lower lip deeply 2-toothed; tube densely bearded within or ± glabrous. Corolla bilabiate; tube slender, dilated at throat, exserted, glabrous within; upper lip short, straight, bifid; lower lip 3-lobed. Stamens 4, included or exserted, didynamous with posterior (upper) stamens slightly or clearly longer than anterior (lower) ones; thecae bilocular, glabrous, parallel or diverging. Style bifid with slightly unequal lobes. Nutlets inadequately known.
The generic name Marmoritis is resuscitated after almost 150 years in synonymy and replaces the currently accepted Phyllophyton. 5 species in the mountains of C Asia, the Himalaya and China. A very close ally of Nepeta and Glechoma L. (not in our area), but apparently meriting independent generic status on the characters of inflorescence, habit and resupinate corollas; all the species grow in screes and moraines up to very high altitudes.
