Strobilanthes helicta

Strobilanthes helicta T. Anderson, J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 9: 479 1867. (syn: Pteracanthus calycinus (Nees) Bremek.);

Monocarpic undershrub, 0.5-1m. Stems erect, usually glabrous, sometimes pubescent above. Leaves nearly equal, elliptic, 5-12 x 1-6cm, acuminate at both ends, serrate, dark green above, pale beneath, veins very prominent, glabrous except on margins near base; petioles 0.2-5cm, bifariously pubescent. Flowers usually solitary, 0.6-1cm apart, in 1-sided, axillary spikes; rhachis 2-8cm, often zigzag, glabrous or glandular pubescent. Bracts linear, 5-13mm, one in each pair shorter than other, glabrous or glandular-pubescent, persistent; bracteoles linear, 2-3mm. Calyx 13-25mm, glabrous, lobes lanceolate, acuminate, often keeled, subequal. Corolla white or flushed pale purple, glabrous, 35-40mm, tube cylinderical for c 5mm, then abruptly widened to c 18mm, narrowed slightly and bent 90 degrees below mouth. Capsule 1.8-2cm, glabrous.

Fl. September-October, flowering in 12-year cycles

Moist broad-leaved hill forest.

(Attributions- A.J.C. GRIERSON & D.G. LONG. Flora of Bhutan. Published by RBGE and RGOB. 2001 from Bhutan Biodiversity Portal)

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Fwd: [itpmods:9868] : 8 posts by 1 author. Attachments (4)- 1 Mb or more.

In the Iturraran Botanical Garden we have 2 plants from Arunachal Pradesh. They were collected three years ago and have flourished for the first time. Now it’s a subshrubs 2 m tall.

It’s a Strobilanthes sp.

They can help us identify it?
Thank you very much.

Could you pl. check images at Strobilanthes, if you could find any match ?

I think it does not match with any of the pictures of the species at Strobilanthes

I think this is the unusual (densely pubescent, some might say villous) form of Strobilanthes helicta. It has the glabrous corolla, zigzag stem, anisophyllous leaves and one-sided rhachis typical of that species. It is apparently plietesial and was presumably brought into the garden as a young plant several years old – this is the explanation for why it has not flowered until now. It would be good to have a better image of the shape of the inflorescence – not just the flower.

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Thanks for your attention.
I had also come to Strobilanthes helicta, with the ‘Flora of China’, but he doubted by the pubescence.
Attached two photos with the inflorescence. Attachments (2)- 1 Mb each.

I forgot to mention, our two Strobilanthes have 2 m high.

These photos clinch it – definitely S. helicta – I have seen these very hairy forms before but they are unusual.

MS Sept.2018/07 Strobilanthes sp. for ID : 3 posts by 2 authors. Attachments (3)
Location : Reiek-tlang, Mizoram

Date : 07-09-2018

Habit : Undeshrub
Habitat : Wild

I think this is Strobilanthes helicta T. Anderson. I can’t see the calyx very clearly but the glabrous corolla, the corolla shape, sessile leaves and inflorescence form strongly suggest this species.