B. liuyanii

Culture

Known In Cultivation

One scientific collection in China

Endangered Status

Rare, known only from a few collections in the wild.

Original Botanical Description or Link to

C.-I Peng, S. M. Ku & W. C. Leong, Bot. Bull. Acad. Sin. 46:245-53, 2005: “Plant monoecious; epipetric; perennial; rhizomatous. Rhizome stout, 10-20 cm long, 1-2.5 cm thick, internodes 0.8-1.3 cm long, brown, villous when young, glabrate when old, with few white, prominently raised, sometimes spine-like, small protrusions. Stipules caducous, narrowly triangular (rarely oblong ovate with apex obtuse), ca. 2-2.5 cm long, 1-1.3 cm wide, brownish, herbaceous, abaxially lanulose-villous, margin ciliate, weakly to strongly keeled, apex aristate, arista 5-7 mm long, horn-like. Leaves 2-5, alternate, simple, asymmetric, unlobed, widely ovate or suborbicular, base strongly oblique-cordate, margin inconspicuously irregularly repandly denticulate and shortly ciliate, apex shortly acuminate, 23-38 cm long (basal lobes included), 16-32 cm wide, adaxially green or dark green, abaxially pale (reddish when young), lacking maculation, subcoriaceous, surface somewhat nitid, flat or somewhat rugose, adaxially sparsely setose (trichomes conical or needle-like with base slightly swollen, nearly erect, straight or slightly curved at apex, 0.5-1 mm long, whitish-hyaline), abaxially lanuginous, particularly pronounced on veins; venation basally 6-7-palmate, midrib distinguishable, pinnate along midrib, with 1-3 major lateral veins on each side, other primary veins dichotomously branching or nearly so, tertiary veins percurrent or reticulate, divergence angle 60-85°, minor veins reticulate, all veins on abaxial surface prominently raised; petiole terete, 13-22 cm long, 5-10 mm hick, brown, villous or lanuginous. Inflorescences axillary, 1-3, arising directly from rhizomes, diffusely thyrsoid (rarely cymose), branched 3-6 times; staminate flowers 10-30, carpellate flowers 3-20; peduncle well developed, terete, erect, 20-41 cm long, 2-5 mm thick, sanguineous, covered with sanguineous glandular-hispid trichomes (trichomes 1.5-1.8 mm long); pedicels sanguineous, glandular-hispid with sanguineous trichomes, ascending to pendent in staminate flowers (0.7-1.2 cm long), horizontal to pendent in carpellate flowers (1.5-2.5 cm long). Bracts caducous, ovate or oblong, margin glandular-ciliate or entire, apex acute, 1-3 mm long, 1-2.5 mm wide, greenish or reddish, herbaceous. Staminate flowers: tepals 4, margin entire, outer two orbicular or widely depressed ovate, base rounded or slightly cordate, apex rounded or obtuse, rarely acute, 7-9 mm long, 8-9 mm wide, abaxially yellowish, greenish yellow or reddish, adaxially whitish, yellowish or sometimes reddish, abaxial surface sparsely red glandular-hispid; inner two tepals obovate, oblong or lanceolate, base cuneate, apex acute, acuminate or obtuse, ca. 5-6 mm long, 3 mm wide, whitish or yellowish, glabrous; androecium actinomorphic, spherical, stamens ca. 30-40, shortly golf-club shaped; filaments slightly fused at base, subequal, ca. 0.4-0.5 mm long; anthers 2-locular, slightly compressed, obovoid, apex truncate or slightly emarginate, ca. 0.6-0.7 mm long, 0.45 mm wide, yellowish. Carpellate flowers: tepals 3, margin entire, persistent, slightly thickened in fruit; outer two tepals widely depressed ovate, 5-7 mm long, 6-7 mm wide, yellowish or reddish, abaxially sparsely red glandular-hispid; inner tepal obovate, base cuneate, apex rounded, ca. 3 mm long, 2 mm wide, yellowish, glabrous; ovary trigonous-ellipsoid, 5-7 mm long, 4-4.5 mm across, reddish, red glandular-hispid, 3-winged; wings unequal; lateral wings narrower, ca. 1-2 mm high, red glandular-hispid; abaxial wing crescent shaped or triangular, ca. 3-7 mm high, 5-7 mm wide; locule 1; placentation intruded parietal (axile near base); placentae 3, each 2-branched; styles 3, fused at base, yellow, ca. 1.5 mm long, apically split into C-form; stigmas in a spiraled band. Fruit dehiscent capsules, nodding, reddish when fresh, 8-11 mm long, 5 mm wide (wings excluded), apex with persistent styles; lateral wings 2-4 mm high; abaxial wing crescent-shaped or triangular, 4-10 mm high. Seeds many, brown, usually widely ovoid-ellipsoid, sometimes ellipsoid, (0.35-) 0.4-0.47 mm long, 0.25-0.3 mm across, chalazal end rounded, micropylar end obtuse, outer periclinal walls of mature seeds concave; collar cells elongated, straight, nearly rectangular, 12-15 cells in a ring, occupying 1/3 -1/2(-2/3) of seed length; anticlinal walls between collar cells raised, straight or slightly undulate; testa cell nearly isodiametric-polygonal.