| English Name | Harland's Box |
|---|---|
| Status in China | Vulnerable (VU) |
Description:
Evergreen small shrubs, up to 1 m high. Leaves opposite; petiole very short or almost obsolete; leaf blade leathery, spathulate or occasionally narrowly oblong, 2-4 cm long and 5-9 mm wide, apex rounded or obtuse, usually slightly emarginate, tapering to the base, margin slightly revolute, dark green and shiny above, light green beneath, veins obscure. Plant monoecious. Flowers unisexual, apetalous, in axillary or terminal clusters. Staminate flowers on the lower part of flower-cluster; sepals 4, broadly ovate or broadly elliptic, ca. 3 mm long; stamens as many as and opposite sepals. Pistillate flowers terminal; sepals 6, broadly ovate, ca. 2 mm long. Ovary superior, glabrous; styles 3, stigma decurrent on inner side of style. Capsules subglobose, ca. 7 mm in diameter, glabrous.
Distribution:
Restricted to Tai Tam Tuk, Wu Kau Tang. E Guangdong.
Habitat and Ecology:
On banks of streams and in thin forest. Flowering: early summer.
This species was first discovered in Tai Tam Tuk, Hong Kong Island, in 1858. The dwarf and much branching habit together with its dark green leaves make the plant very suitable for bonsai. The plant has been over-collected elsewhere for cultivation as ornamental plants. In Hong Kong, the locality of its occurrence is within Country Park under protection. Ex-situ conservation could be explored.
References:
鄭勉，1980: 中國植物誌，44(1): 33, 圖版9:9-14。科學出版社，北京。
羅獻瑞，1995：廣東植物誌3：233。廣東科技出版社，廣州。
Hance, H.F., 1873: Journal of the Linnean Society, Botany 13: 123-124.
