Vasilis Teodoridis:
9. Desmos chinensis Loureiro; Fl. Cochinch. 1: 352. 1790.
???? jia ying zhua
???? Artabotrys esquirolii H. L?veill?; Unona chinensis A. de Candolle; U. discolor Vahl.
???? Shrubs; erect to climbing; 1--4 m tall; glabrous except for flowers. Branches stout; with gray-white and convex lenticels. Petiole 2--4 cm; leaf blade oblong; elliptic; or rarely broadly ovate; 4--14 X 2--6.5 cm; papery to membranous; abaxially glaucous; adaxially lucid; base rounded to slightly oblique; apex obtuse to acute; lateral veins 7--12 pairs. Inflorescences leaf-opposed or alternate; pendulous; 1-flowered. Flowers 3--6 cm in diam. Pedicel 2--5.5 cm. Sepals ovate; 3--5 cm; outside puberulous. Petals yellowish to greenish yellow; outer petals oblong to oblong-lanceolate; ca. 9 X 2 cm; apex obtuse; puberulous on both surfaces; inner petals oblong-lanceolate; ca. 7 X 1.5 cm; puberulous. Torus convex; flat to slightly concave. Connective apex truncate. Carpels oblong; 1--1.5 mm; villous. Stigmas subcapitate; recurved; apex 2-cleft. Fruiting carpels 2--5 cm; glabrous. Fl. Apr--Oct; fr. Jun--Dec.
???? Waste places and thickets in valleys; 100--1500 m. Guangdong; Guangxi; Guizhou; Hainan; Yunnan [Bhutan; Cambodia; India; Indonesia; Laos; Malaysia; Philippines; Sikkim; Singapore; Thailand; Vietnam].
???? The bast fibers are used for cordage. The roots and leaves are used medicinally; and the leaves are used in brewing liquor in Hainan.