Pentaphragma spicatum is a species of flowering plant in the family Pentaphragmataceae. It is a perennial herb with asymmetrical leaves, white or yellow-green flowers, and ellipsoid berries. The species is native to China, and was described in 1922.
Taxonomy The species was described by Elmer Drew Merrill in 1922.
Distribution Pentaphragma spicatum is native to the subtropical biome of south-east China (southern Guangxi and Guangdong) and Hainan. Its range may extend into northern Vietnam. The species grows in ravines, in dense tropical forests, at elevations of around .
Description Pentaphragma spicatum is a perennial herb. The stems grow to around high. The stems, leaves, bracts, and calyx are densely covered with hairs. The rhizomes are oblique, elongated, up to long and wide, and more or less woody. The roots are fibrous, and around wide.
The leaves are papery, asymmetrical, ovate or ovate-orbicular, long, wide, and have smooth or toothed edges. The leaf stems are long.
The inflorescence is a long spike. The inflorescences are solitary or in pairs. The inflorescence stem is around long. The flowers grow on long stems. The flowers are around long. The calyx tube is bell-shaped, around long and wide, and has lobes which are around long. The corolla is white or yellow-green, and around long. The petals are oblong, and long. The plant flowers from May to July.
The fruit is an ellipsoid berry, which is around long. The seeds are ovoid, dark brown, and around long. The plant fruits from October to November.
Nomenlature In Chinese, the species is known as ().
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