Shortia

Herbs, colonial, scapose, rhizomatous; rhizome slender, scale-leaved, lignescent. Stems erect, unbranched. Leaves basal, rosulate from rhizome buds, 30-80 mm; petiole present; blade orbiculate to elliptic-orbiculate, ovate-oblong, or ovate, margins coarsely crenate-serrate, apex emarginate to truncate, surfaces glabrous, pinnately veined. Scapes bracteate, elongating after flowering. Inflorescences solitary flowers. Flowers: sepals distinct; petals connate in proximal 1/4-1/2, corolla campanulate to funnelform, 15-25 mm, lobes white to rose-purple, margins obtusely toothed to laciniate or fringed; anthers 2-locular, without basal spurs, longitudinally dehiscent; filaments adnate to corolla tube; staminodes present. x = 6.

The Asian species of Shortia occur in Japan (three endemic), Taiwan and the Ryukyus (one endemic), and Yunnan Province, China (one endemic).

Cal deeply cleft; cor open-campanulate, cleft to the middle or below; stamens distinct; 5 small, scale-like staminodia incurved over the ovary; anthers inflexed, with 2 pollen-sacs; style filiform; stigma obscurely 3-lobed; capsule ovoid; evergreen, rhizomatous, perennial herbs with long-petioled basal lvs and erect scapes bearing (in our sp.) a rather large, solitary fl. 8, the others e. Asian.

Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

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