Balanophora dioica R. Br. ex Royle

One of us (Murata) considers it doubtful that this Himalayan species actually occurs in China. Chinese specimens under this name are possibly misidentified.

This species is used medicinally.

Plants dioecious. Rhizome ochre yellow, brown, or reddish purple, unbranched or several together in a mass, surface with granular warts or scattered yellow stellate lenticels; branches subglobose, 0.5-2.5 cm in diam. Scapes purple to pink, cylindric, 2-10 cm. Leaves 3-10, distichous, rarely spirally arranged, imbricate, broadly ovate to ovate-oblong, 1.5-4 × 1.5-2.5 cm, apex obtuse to emarginate. Male inflorescences broadly ovoid to ellipsoid, 3-3.5 × 2.5-3 cm. Male flowers: very numerous, actinomorphic, each subtended by a single truncate bract. Pedicel 4-9 mm. Perianth lobes 4 or 5, ovate, ca. 2 mm, reflexed. Synandria hemispheroidal, 0.5-1 × 1-1.5 mm; anthers 4 or 5, 2-celled, U-shaped, longitudinally dehiscent. Female inflorescences ellipsoid to narrowly ovoid, 2-5 cm. Spadicles ca. 1 mm, subclavate, apical 1/3 subglobose, apex truncate and papillate; cuticular ridges of apical cells longitudinally slender and congested. Female flowers: on basal stipe of spadicles and main axis of inflorescence. Fl. Aug-Oct.

C-E Nepal: Bhutan, China, NE India, Myanmar, Sikkim.

Hunan, Xizang, Yunnan [Bhutan, NE India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sikkim].

400-2600 m

Herbs

Dense forests; 1100-2600 m.

Balanophora dioica là một loài thực vật có hoa trong họ Balanophoraceae. Loài này được R.Br. ex Royle mô tả khoa học đầu tiên năm 1836.

粗穗蛇菰（学名：Balanophora dioica）是蛇菰科蛇菰属的植物。分布于缅甸、印度、尼泊尔以及中国大陆的西藏、云南、湖南等地，生长于海拔1,150米至2,510米的地区，常生长在山地密林中，目前尚未由人工引种栽培。