Vasilis Teodoridis:
Euphorbiaceae | Actephila
3. Actephila merrilliana Chun; Sunyatsenia. 3: 26. 1935.
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Actephila inopinata Croizat.
Shrubs; 1-2 m tall; branchlets sparsely pubescent; glabrescent; lenticellate. Stipules triangular-lanceolate; 1-2 mm; brown; abaxially puberulent; petiole 10-40 mm; puberulent; leaf blade oblong-elliptic or obovate-lanceolate; 7-20 x 2-5.5 cm; thinly leathery; abaxially paler; glabrous; adaxially glossy; base cuneate or broadly so; apex obtuse; midrib elevated on both surfaces; lateral veins 6-10 pairs; delicate; obliquely ascendant; anastomosing near margin. Inflorescences with 1 to few male and/or 1 female flowers. Male flowers: pedicels 1-8 mm; sepals 5; broadly ovate; ca. 3 x 2 mm; petals 5; 5-9 mm in diam.; spatulate or linear; smaller than sepals; entire; stamens 5; distinct; pistillode apex 2- or 3-lobed. Female flowers: pedicels 2-4 cm; delicate; sepals 5; obovate or oblong-obovate; 5-6 x 2-5 mm; yellow-green; membranous; with 4-5 longitudinal striations; petals 5; linear or lanceolate; 0.8-1.2 mm; ca. 1.5 cm in diam.; disk annular; thickened; entire; ovary ovate; smooth and glabrous; styles 3; bifid. Fruiting pedicel to 5 cm; sepals persistent; capsules oblate-spherical; ca. 2 cm in diam.; exocarp brown; glabrous; crustaceous; endocarp yellow-white. Seeds 3-angled; ca. 10 mm. Fl. Apr-Oct; fr. Jul-Dec.
? Slopes; valleys; scrub; 300-800 m. Guangdong; Hain