Month: February 2015

Species: Liquidambar formosana English Name: Sweet Gum Chinese Name: 楓香 Family: Hamamelidaceae Description: Trees to 30 m tall, trunk sometimes 1 m in diam.; bark gray-brown; branchlets pubescent or glabrous, somewhat lenticellate; buds ovoid, 1 cm, puberulent. Stipules red, nearly free or adnate to petiole, 1–1.4 cm; petiole 8–12 cm, pubescent; leaf blade broadly ovate, palmately 3-lobed and 3-veined,…

Species: Distylium racemosum English Name: Mother-of-mosquitos Tree Chinese Name: 蚊母树 Family: Hamamelidaceae Description: Shrubs or trees; young branches stellately lepidote, older growth drying dark brown, glabrous; buds lepidote. Petiole 5–10 mm, sparsely stellately lepidote; leaf blade elliptic or obovate-elliptic, 3–7 × 1.5–3.5 cm, abaxially glabrescent, adaxially drying green, shiny, base broadly cuneate, margin entire, apex obtuse or subacute; lateral…

Species: Nelumbo nucifera  English Name:  Lotus Chinese Name: 蓮 Family: Nelumbonaceae Description: Petiole 1–2 m, terete, fistulous, glabrous or papillae hard and scattered; leaf blade abaxially blue-green, orbicular, 25–90 cm in diam., papery, glabrous, glaucous, water-repellent, margin entire. Flowers 10–23 cm in diam.; peduncles longer than petioles, glabrous or sparsely spinulate. Tepals caducous, pink or white, oblong-elliptic to obovate,…

Species: Chimonanthus praecox English Name: Wintersweet Chinese Name: 蠟梅 Family: Calycanthaceae Description: Shrubs or small trees, 3-13 m tall, deciduous or sometimes with persistent leaves. Branchlets grayish brown, quadrangular when young but becoming subterete, glabrous or slightly puberulent, lenticellate; buds usually axillary on branches of previous year; bud scales subcircular, imbricate, outside pubescent. Petiole 0.3-1.8 cm, pubescent; leaf blade…

Species: Annona squamosa English Name: Sugar Apple; Sweetop Chinese Name: 番荔枝 Family: Annonaceae Description: Small trees, to 4 m. Young branches pubescent. Petioles 9- 15 x ca. 1.5 mm. Leaf blades 9- 13.5 x 4-5 cm, oblong or elliptic-oblong, glabrous or slightly pubescent both sides, base cuneate, apex obtuse or subacute, midvein impressed adaxially, secondary veins 6-8 pairs. Inflorescences leaf-opposed…

Species: Stephania longa  English Name: Long Stephania Chinese Name: 糞箕篤 Family: Menispermaceae Description: Herbaceous vines, 1-4 m or longer, glabrous except for inflorescence. Branches slender, striate. Petiole 1-4.5 cm, often twining at base; leaf blade conspicuously peltate, triangular-ovate, 3-9 × 2-6 cm, papery, adaxially dark brown, abaxially light green, sometimes pinkish green, base subtruncate or slightly rounded, rarely slightly…

Species: Magnolia coco English Name: Chinese Mangolia; Coco Magnolia Chinese Name: 夜香木蘭丶夜合花 Family: Magnoliaceae Description: Evergreen shrub or small tree, 2-4m, glabrous; bark grey, twigs green, smooth, slightlly ridged and glossy.  Stipular scars reached apex of petioles; petioles 5-10 mm.  Leaves elliptic, narrowly elliptic or obovate-elliptic, 7-14(-28) x 2-4.5(-9) cm, leathery, base cuneate, apex long-acuminate, adaxially deep green and…

Species: Peperomia argyreia  English Name:  Sander’s Peperomia; Watermelon Peperomia Chinese Name: 西瓜皮椒草 Family: Piperaceae Description:

Species: Actinodaphne pilosa  English Name: Pilose Actinodaphne Chinese Name: 毛黃肉楠 Family: Lauraceae Description: Trees or shrubs, 4-12 m tall. Young branchlets, bud scales, young leaf blades on both surfaces, and petioles densely ferruginous tomentose. Leaves alternate or in clusters of 3-5; petiole stout, 1.5-3 cm; leaf blade obovate, rarely elliptic, 12-24 × 5-12 cm, pinninerved, lateral veins 5-7(-10) pairs,…

Species: Desmos chinensis  English Name: Chinese Desmos Chinese Name: 假鷹爪、酒餅葉 Family: Annonaceae Description: Climbers to 4 m tall, woody. Branches stout, sparsely hairy when young, with raised grayish white lenticels. Petiole 3-8 mm; leaf blade oblong to elliptic, rarely broadly ovate, 6-14 × 2-6.5 cm, membranous to thinly papery, abaxially glaucous and sparsely appressed hairy, adaxially glossy, secondary veins…