| English Name | Balloon Flower |
|---|---|
| Status in China | Least Concern (LC) |
Description:
Perennial herbs, to l m high, with milky juice. Tap root conical or cylindrical, 5-20 cm long, 1-2 cm in diameter. Leaves whorled or alternate on the upper part of stem, subsessile, blade ovate, ovate-elliptic to lanceolate, 2-7 cm long and 0.5-3.5 cm wide, apex acute, base cuneate to obtuse, margin serrulate, glabrous, usually glaucous beneath. Flower mostly solitary and terminal. Calyx-tube half-globose, glaucous, apex 5 triangular lobes or teeth. Corolla open-bell-shaped, dark rich blue to lilac, 2.5-4 cm long, shallowly 5-lobed; stamens 5, filaments flattened at base; ovary inferior, 5 locular. Capsule subglobose or obovoid, 1-2.5 cm long, ca. 1 cm in diameter.
Distribution:
Hong Kong Island, Castle Peak, Long Ke. S, E, SW, C to NE China. Russia, Korea, Japan.
Habitat and Ecology:
On sunny grassy hillslopes. Flowering: Jul.-Sept.
Roots of this species are used as medicine and the large blue flower makes it an attractive ornamental plant. Although the species is widely distributed in China, Hong Kong is the southern-most extension of its distribution range. The local populations size are small and some localities are within Country Parks under protection. The locality at Castle Peak has been listed as a Site of Special Scientific Interest owing to the occurrence of this species. The species has also been protected under the Forestry Regulations (Cap. 96 sub. leg.).
References:
洪德元，1983: 桔梗科，中國植物誌73（2）：77。科學出版社，北京。
羅獻瑞，1992: 實用中草藥彩色圖集1：193，圖97。廣東科技出版社，廣州。
莊兆祥、李甯漢, 1981: 香港中草藥2:164-165。商務印書館，香港。
