| English Name | Hong Kong Eagle's Claw |
|---|---|
| Status in China | Least Concern (LC) |
Description:
Scandent shrubs, up to 6 m long; branchlets yellowish hirsute. Leaves alternate; petioles short, puberulous; blade leathery, elliptic to oblong, 6-12 cm long, 2.5-4 cm wide, apex acute or obtuse, base nearly rotund or slightly oblique. Flower bisexual, solitary; pedicel slightly longer than the hooked peduncle, puberulous; sepals 3, triangular, c. 3 mm long, subglabrous; petals 6, in 2 whorls, ovate-lanceolate, 1-1.8 cm long, base concave, outer ones densely silky villose, thick; stamens numerous, connectives pubescent at apex; carpels glabrous, 2-ovuled, stigma short clavite. Fruit ellipsoidal, 2-3.5 cm long, 1.5-3 cm in diameter, black when dry.
Distribution:
Mount Parker, Happy Valley, Lantau, Tai Tam, Lam Tsuen, Fanling, Sheung Shui, Yuen Long. Guangdong, Hunan, Yunnan; Vietnam.
Habitat and Ecology:
In dense forests or on wet places of ravines, alt. 300-500m. Flowering: Apr.-Jul.; fruiting: May-Dec.
The species was first discovered in Mount Gough in 1853. Its fragrant flower has potential economic value. The plant is also very suitable for cultivation as a ornamental. In Hong Kong most of the localities of its occurrence are in Country Parks under protection.
References:
李秉滔，1991：廣東植物誌2：31，圖25：5-8。廣東科技出版社，廣州。
Hance, H. F., 1870: Journal of Botany, British and Foreign 8(88): 71-72.
