Ajuga lupulina Maxim.

Herbs perennial, rhizomatous. Stems robust, erect, angles and nodes villous. Petiole narrowly winged, basally amplexicaul; leaf blade lanceolate to rhombic-ovate, 5-11 × 1.8-3 cm, base cuneate-decurrent, margin remotely undulate-crenate, inconspicuously crenate-dentate, to subentire, apex obtuse. Floral leaves white-yellow, white, or greenish purple, reduced apically, ovate to broadly ovate, 3.5-5 × 1.8-2.7 cm, base rounded, amplexicaul, margin entire to dentate, apex acuminate. Calyx campanulate to subfunnelform, 7-9 mm, slightly swollen in front, with inconspicuous accessory veins; teeth narrowly triangular, 1/2 or more as long as calyx, regular, apically acuminate, ciliate. Corolla white, whitish green, or whitish yellow with purple lines, narrowly funnelform, (1.1-)1.8-2.5 cm, sparsely villous; tube slightly swollen to saccate near base, villous annulate inside, curved; upper lip straight, 2-lobed, with subcircular lobes; lower lip projected, with middle lobe narrowly flabellate, ca. 6.5 mm, apex emarginate; lateral lobes semicircular, deltate to oblong, ca. 3 mm. Nutlets slightly swollen at middle, areole almost 1/2 as long as adaxial side of nutlet. Fl. Jul-Sep, fr. Aug-Oct.

Nepal, Assam, China.

Gansu, Hebei, Qinghai, Shanxi, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan

2200-4500 m

* Sandy areas along riverbanks, alpine grasslands, grassy slopes near villages, crevices of steep rocky slopes; 1300-4200 m.

Flowering from July to September; fruiting from August to October.

Ajuga lupulina var. lupulina is close relative of Ajuga lupulina var. major, but differs from the latter in its floral leaves entire (vs. dentate), leaf blade lanceolate-oblong to lanceolate (vs. ovate-circular to rhombic-ovate), adaxially glabrous or very sparsely pilose, abaxially villous on veins or sparsely pilose near apex (vs. pilose), plants 8-25 cm tall (vs. more than 25 cm).

Ajuga lupulina is occurring in Gansu, Hebei, Qinghai, Shanxi, Sichuan, Xizang of China.

Herbs perennial, 8-25 cm tall, rhizomatous. Stems robust, erect, angles and nodes villous. Petiole narrowly winged, basally amplexicaul; leaf blade lanceolate-oblong to lanceolate, 5-11 cm long, 1.8-3 cm wide, base cuneate-decurrent, margin remotely undulate-crenate, inconspicuously crenate-dentate, to subentire, apex obtuse, adaxially glabrous or very sparsely pilose, abaxially villous on veins or sparsely pilose near apex. Floral leaves white-yellow, white, or greenish purple, reduced apically, ovate to broadly ovate, 3.5-5 cm long, 1.8-2.7 cm wide, base rounded, amplexicaul, margin entire. Calyx campanulate to subfunnelform, 7-9 mm, slightly swollen in front, with inconspicuous accessory veins; teeth narrowly triangular, 1/2 or more as long as calyx, regular, apically acuminate, ciliate. Corolla white, whitish green, or whitish yellow with purple lines, narrowly funnelform, 1.8-2.5 cm, sparsely villous; tube slightly swollen to saccate near base, villous annulate inside, curved; upper lip straight, 2-lobed, with subcircular lobes; lower lip projected, with middle lobe narrowly flabellate, ca. 6.5 mm, apex emarginate; lateral lobes semicircular, deltate to oblong, ca. 3 mm. Nutlets slightly swollen at middle, areole almost 1/2 as long as adaxial side of nutlet.

Growing in sandy areas along riverbanks, alpine grasslands, crevices of steep rocky slopes; 1300-3500 m.

Ajuga lupulina is a herbaceous flowering plant native to the Himalayan mountain ranges.