Rhodoleia championii (Hongkong)

Rhodoleia championii Hook. f., Bot. Mag. 76: , pl. 4509 1850. (syn: Rhodoleia formosa Champ. ex Hance; Rhodoleia latiovatifolia G.A. Fu; Rhodoleia ovalifolia Ridl.; Rhodoleia subcordata Exell; Rhodoleia teysmannii Miq.);

Java, peninsular Malaysia (Kedah, Perak, Pahan, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka), Vietnam, Laos, Sumatra, China (C- and W-Guangdong, Guizhou, Hainan), Indonesia (Sumatra) as per Catalogue of Life;

Rhodoleia championii, the Hong Kong rose, is a species of plant in the family Hamamelidaceae. It is a small evergreen tree with dangling scarlet flowers that are pollinated primarily by birds, and is found in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Vietnam.

Rhodoleia championii is a small evergreen tree growing to a height of about 12 m (40 ft). The bark is smooth and dark brown. The leathery, glossy-green leaves are stalked, oblong or obovate, measuring 7 to 16 cm (2.8 to 6.3 in) by 4.5 to 10.5 cm (1.8 to 4.1 in). The leaf base is broadly tapering and the apex is obtuse or widely acute. The underside of the leaf is greyish, usually smooth but sometime with the remains of stellate brown scales. The scarlet flowers are borne on short peduncles in the axils of the leaves, and are pendulous, 3 to 4 cm (1.2 to 1.6 in) long and 2.5 to 3.5 cm (1.0 to 1.4 in) wide. Each flower has several whorls of rounded bracts, many spatulate petals, stamens the same length as the petals and a slightly shorter style. The fruit is a five-chambered capsule containing flattened, yellowish-brown seeds.^[2]^[3]

This species is a native of southeastern Asia. Its range extends from Myanmar, Malaysia and Vietnam to China and Indonesia. It occurs in both lowland and upland primary and secondary forests.^[1] It was first found growing in Hong Kong in 1948, but has since been propagated there to increase the number of specimens in the wild.^[3]

(from Wikipedia on 9.3.17)

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Fwd: for id help please : 5 posts by 1 author. Attachments (1).

attached 3 pictures.

photos taken 0n 070217, in hongkong.

tree. leaves alternate, aestivation end of branch. glaucous dorsal. dark green ventral. petiole swollen at apex and base.

flowers in axils, end of branch leaves. polypetalous. 7cm across, pedicel about 4.5cm long. petals 3cm long, about 26 in number. stamens erect and about 47 in number. styles 10, in 5 pairs, each pair arising at the top of a pair of ovaries.

no other tree in the vicinity

Attachments (1)

…,, former director bsi, identified this species as-

Rhodoleia championii, HAMAMELIDACEAE.

DATA AVAILABLE IN FLORA OF CHINA

2. This has been my query – how did we identify, or how do we id a plant.

3. my website www.signaturesofplants.com was constructed to enable identification by primary characteristics

i have entered this species into it now. it is full of clinching characteristics.