Vasilis Teodoridis:
Sabiaceae | Meliosma
16. Meliosma laui Merrill; Lingnan Sci. J. 14: 32. 1935.
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Meliosma laui var. megaphylla H. W. Li ex S. K. Chen; M. simplicifolia (Roxburgh) Walpers subsp. laui (Merrill) Beusekom.
Trees small; to 7 m tall; evergreen. Buds; young branches; abaxial surface of leaves; petioles; inflorescences; and outsides of sepals densely brownish lanuginous; branchlets light gray; shallowly grooved. Leaves simple; petiole 1-4 cm; leaf blade elliptic; elliptic-obovate; or oblong-lanceolate; 7-14(-25) x 2.5-5.5(-9) cm; leathery; adaxially subglabrous except on midvein and lateral veins; lateral veins 9-13 pairs; anastomosing near margin; base cuneate or rounded; margin entire; apex acuminate; with a sharp tip. Panicle terminal; 15-25 cm; elongating; branched 3 times; lateral branches explanate. Flowers aromatic; dense on tertiary branches; ca. 3 mm in diam.; sessile. Sepals 5; ovate; ca. 2 mm. Petals yellow: 3 outer ones broadly ovate; ca. 3 mm; 2 inner ones ca. 0.7 mm; bifid nearly to half at an acute angle; apex ciliate. Stamens ca. 1 mm; filaments of fertile stamens equal to inner petals; anthers broader than long; connectives enlarged; peltate. Pistil ca. 1.5 mm; ovary 1.5-2 x shorter than style; glabrous. Drupe obovoid or subglobose; 8-12 mm in diam.; endocarp slightly laterally flattened; with coarse; scattered netlike strips; midrib sharply prominent. Fl. Mar-Apr; fr. Jul-Aug.
Forests; 600-800 m. Guangdong; SW Guangxi; SE Hainan; Yunnan [Vietnam].