| English Name | Hong Kong Witch-hazel |
|---|---|
| Status in China | Critically endangered (CR). Recorded in China Plant Red Data Book and Illustration of Rare & endangered plant in Guangdong Province. |
Description:
Evergreen shrubs or small trees, up to 12 m tall; branchlets glabrous. Leaves leathery, ovate or elliptic, 7-12 cm long, 3.5-5 cm wide, apex short acute, base rounded or cordate, upper surface green, glossy, lateral veins 6-8 pairs, impressed adaxially and prominent abaxially. Inflorescence an axillary heads; flowers bisexual, petals 5, white, ribbon-like, 1.5 cm long; stamens 5, filaments very short, anthers ovoid, with 2 pollen sac opening each by 2 vertical valves, connectives exserted; staminodes 5, bifid. Capsule subglobose, 1-1.2 cm in diameter, calyx-tube as long as 2/3 of capsule.
Distribution:
Jardine's Lookout, Mount Cameron, Sunset Peak. Guangdong, Guangxi and Guizhou.
Habitat and Ecology:
In forest. Flowering: Sept.-Oct.
Tetrathyriumis a monotypic genus endemic to China and is thus of great scientific importance. This species was first discovered in Hong Kong Island between 1857 and 1858. Destruction of habitats happened elsewhere. In Hong Kong, most of the localities of occurrence are in Country Parks under protection. AFCD have been actively propagating this plant and reintroducing it into its natural habitats. Ex-situ conservation has also been carried out and living specimens are cultivated in the Shing Mun Arboretum.
References:
張宏達，1987：廣東植物誌1：159，圖175。廣東科技出版社，廣州。
傅立國，1992：中國植物紅皮書1：330-331。科學出版社，北京。
Bentham,G., 1861: Flora Hongkongensis. 133. Reeves, London.
