Lasianthus sikkimensis Hook.f.

112. Lasianthus sikkimensis Hook.f. View in CoL

Lasianthus sikkimensis Hook.f. (1880) View in CoL 180; Deb & M. Gangop. (1991) 297 ; H. Zhu (1994) 60; (1998) 155; H.S. Lo (1999) 80, pl. 21: 6–11. — Type: Hooker & Thomson 11 (holo K), Sikkim-Himalaya .

Lasianthus mindanaensis Merr. (1922) View in CoL 466; (1923) 567. — Type: Bur. Sci. 38795 (Ramos & Endano s.n.) (holo lost; iso K, L, US), Philippines, Mindanao , Mt Candoon, syn. nov .

Lasianthus langkokensis (Drake) Pit. (1924) View in CoL 379. — Mephitidia langkokensis Drake (1895) View in CoL 240. — Lasianthus sikkimensis Hook.f. subsp. langkokensis (Pit.) H. Zhu (1994) View in CoL 61; (1998) 153. — Type: Balansa 2654 (holo P), Vietnam, Tonkin, Bavi .

Lasianthus baviensis (Drake) Pit. (1924) View in CoL 380. — Mephitidia baviensis Drake (1895) View in CoL 239. — Type: Balansa 2655 (holo P; iso K), Vietnam,Tonkin, Tu-phap .

Lasianthus tsangii Merr. ex Li (1943) View in CoL 458; H.J.Li & H.Y.Liu (1998) 295. — Type: Tsang 23940 (holo SCBI), China, Kwangsi [Guangxi].

Shrubs, 1– 3 m high; branches and branchlets densely brown-tomentose. Leaves: blades elliptic-lanceolate or elliptic, 10– 20 by 2.5– 5 cm, subcoriaceous or thinly coriaceous, glabrous above, densely brown-tomentose beneath, apex cuspidate-acuminate, base acute or obtuse, usually recurved at margin, midrib and nerves flat above, conspicuously prominent beneath, nerves 7–10 pairs, ascending at an angle of over 50°, curved to the margin, nervules subparallel, prominent beneath; petioles 6–14 mm long, brown-tomentose. Stipules triangular, 2–4 mm long, densely tomentose. Cymes sessile, 1–3-flowered; bracts persistent, linear to lanceolate, up to 2 cm long, brown-tomentose. Flowers sessile or subsessile; calyx 3–4 mm long, tube glabrous outside, lobes 5, triangular, hirsute outside; corolla c. 10 mm long, puberulous outside. Fruits ellipsoid, 6 – 8 mm long, glabrous except on the persisting hirsute calyx lobes; pyrenes 5.

Distribution — NE India, Sikkim, Bangladesh, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines.

Note — Lasianthus mindanaensis has branches rather densely brown-tomentose; leaves chartaceous to subcoriaceous, lanceolate, 11–18 cm long, apex caudate, base acute, nerves 7, nervules rather distinct beneath, yellowish brown-tomentose on nerves and nervules beneath, petioles densely brown-tomentose; stipules ovate, 3–4 mm long, densely brown-tomentose; flowers sessile, fascicles, bracts narrowly lanceolate, 8 mm long, brown-tomentose; calyx tube glabrous, lobe 2 mm long, glabrous outside; drupes glabrous, 5 mm long. All of these characters agree well with L. sikkimensis . Lasianthus mindanaensis is conspecific with L. sikkimensis .