Vasilis Teodoridis:
Ericaceae | Lyonia
1. Lyonia ovalifolia (Wallich) Drude in Engler & Prantl; Nat. Pflanzenfam. 4(1): 44. 1889.
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Shrubs or trees; deciduous or evergreen; 1–4 m tall. Twigs glabrous or pubescent. Buds narrowly ovoid; (1–)3–9(–11.5) mm; glabrous. Petiole 4–9 mm; glabrous or pubescent; leaf blade ovate; narrowly to broadly elliptic; lanceolate; or suborbicular; 3–20 x 2–12 cm; papery to thinly leathery; both surfaces ± with white or brown hairs; rarely abaxially densely white villous on midvein or subglabrous; veins prominently raised to slightly depressed or nearly obscure; base obtuse; cuneate; or sometimes cordate; apex acuminate. Inflorescences 5–20 cm; pubescent; lower 1–3(or 4) bracts leaflike or not. Pedicel 2–10 mm; densely pubescent. Calyx lobes oblong or triangular; 2–6 mm; densely or sometimes sparsely pubescent. Corolla tubular; 8–11 mm; abaxially densely pubescent; lobes ca. 1 mm. Filaments 5–8 mm; pilose; with 2 spurs at apex. Ovary glabrous or pubescent. Capsule globose or ovoid; 3–5 mm in diam.; with thick sutures or not; glabrous to densely pubescent. Fl. May–Jun; fr. Jul–Sep. 2n = 24*.
Forests; forest margins; thickets; mountains; open and dry slopes; near hot springs; ravines; 200–3400 m. Anhui; Fujian; S Gansu; Guangdong; Guangxi; Guizhou; Hainan; Hubei; Hunan; Jiangsu; Jiangxi; Shaanxi; Sichuan; Taiwan; Xizang; Yunnan; Zhejiang [Bangladesh; Bhutan; Cambodia; India; Japan; Laos; Malaysia; Myanmar; Nepal; Pakistan; Sikkim; Thailand; Vietnam].
The leaf blade shape and indumentum are highly variable.