Helixanthera pulchra
Content
Description
Glabrous except for young inflorescences and flowers sparsely tomentose.
Leaves spirally arranged, sometimes crowded into false whorls; lamina lanceolate to elliptic or ovate, 10-23 by (2.5-)4-l 1 cm, cuneate to truncate at the base to a distinct petiole 10- 25 mm long, acuminate and acute at the apex, lustrous above, dull below; venation pinnate with the midrib visible above and raised below and the main laterals few and faintly visible above.
Inflorescences at the nodes, a many-flowered raceme or spike sometimes subtended by an involucre of a few narrow bracts up to 5 mm long; axis (100-) 150- 250 mm long; pedicels 0-2(-3) mm long; bracts strongly reflexed, with a dorsal spurlike sac, 1-2 mm long.
Ovary campanulate or depressed barrel-shaped, 1.2-2 mm long and wide, usually with irregular wrinkles or furrows persisting to the young fruit.
Distribution
Asia-Tropical: Malaya (Peninsular Malaysia present); Sumatera (Sumatera present); Thailand (Thailand present), southern Burma present
Southern Burma, Thailand; Malesia: Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia.
Notes
Of the two syntypes of the name Loranthus pulcher var. sessiliflora Ridl., on which H. apodanthes Danser was based, Robinson s. n. (K) is the most complete specimen, and is accordingly selected as lectotype.
Closely related to Helixanthera setigera, differing in the characters set out in the key. Discrimination between small-flowered forms of the two species is sometimes difficult, possibly owing to introgression or significant commonality in their gene pools.
The species is moderately polymorphic with respect to pedicel and corolla length and leaf dimensions. The variation lacks a strong geographic pattern, and subsumes the segregate species recognized by Danser (H. apodanthes, H. pierrei).