| English Name | Long-leaved Birthwort |
|---|---|
| Status in China | Endangered (EN) |
Description:
Woody vines; tubers fleshy, fusiform, 3-5 cm in diam; stems erect, upper part climbing; young branches densely yellowish brown villose. Leaves leathery, lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, 15-25 cm long, 2.5-4.5 cm wide, base rounded or slightly cordate, subglabrous above, densely covered with appressed hairs beneath; petioles 1-2.5 cm long. Flowers solitary or 2-5 in racemes; pedicels 3-4 cm long; perianth-tube yellow, brown hirsute outside, abruptly curved at middle; limb disciform, suborbicular, 3-lobed, lobes purplish red and with dark red veins, throat yellow. Capsule long cylindrical, ca. 6 cm long, 3 cm in diam.
Distribution:
Victoria Peak, High West, Ma On Shan, Tai Mo Shan. Guangdong, Guangxi, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan.
Habitat and Ecology:
In thickets or thin forests on hillslopes. Flowering: Apr.-Jun.; fruiting: Aug.-Nov.
The large and colourful flower would make the plant an attractive ornamental. Most localities of its occurrence in Hong Kong are in Country Parks under protection. Ex-situ conservation measures could be explored.
References:
黃淑美，1987：廣東植物誌1：95，圖54。1987。廣東科技出版社，廣州。
黃淑美，1988：中國植物誌24：219-220。科學出版社，北京。
