| English Name | Illigera |
|---|---|
| Status in China | Least Concern (LC) |
Description:
Lianas. Stem angulate, glabrous. Leaves ternate; leaflets papery or nearly leathery, ovate to ovate-elliptic, 6-15 cm long and 3-7 cm wide, apex abruptly acuminate, base rounded to subcordate, entire, both surfaces glabrous; basal veins 3, lateral veins 4- or 5-paired, conspicuous on both surfaces; petiolules 1.5-2 cm long, glabrous. Inflorescences cymose, 15-20 cm long, glabrous. Calyx tube constricted at apex; petals 5, white, with pellucid dots, pubescent; fertile stamens 5; filaments longer than petals, anthers 1.5-2.5 mm long, pubescent; staminodes 15, 10 of them gland-like, ovoid, inserted on the base of filaments, rest 5 globose; style villous; stigma dilated into an undulate crest. Fruit 4-winged, 3-4.5 cm in diam., large ones oblong, 1.5-2.3 cm long, small wings semi-orbicular, 0.5-1 cm long.
Distribution:
Fung Yuen, She Shan Tsuen. Hainan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan. Indochina, Malaysia.
Habitat and Ecology:
In thickets. Flowering: Apr.-Oct.; fruiting: Jun.-Nov.
It is the larval food plant for the butterfly White Dragontail (Lamproptera curius). The species has been listed as protected species under the Forestry Regulations (Cap. 96 sub. leg.). AFCD have been actively propagating this plant. Ex-situ conservation has also been conducted and living specimens are cultivated in the Shing Mun Arboretum.
References:
林有潤、丘華興，1995：廣東植物誌3：3。廣東科技出版社，廣州。
