It
belongs to the Celastraceae Family, with the Latin name of Bhesa sinensis.
The
semi-evergreen arbor is 13 meters high, with a chest diameter of 60 centimeters.
It bears yellow brown barks and developed buttress roots. The thin and
keratinous leaves, elliptic or lance-shaped, are 9 to 17 centimeters long, with
leaf veins densely lined like grids. The raceme in leaf axil on branch tip, 2 to
3 centimeters long, has light white flowers with 5 elliptic petals borne on
periphery of the floral disc. The flower bears 5 stamens. The globular ovary
bears a cluster of macrotrichia on the top. The capsular fruit is long ovoid,
about 2.5 to 2.8 centimeters long. It bears only 1 seed, which is about 2
centimeters long with pitchy and lustrous seed coat. The aril is yellow brown
and fleshy, fully or nearly fully enwrapping the seed.
It is a
tropical tree species discovered in recent years. It grows on hillsides at an
altitude of 50 meters and not far from the coast. The buttress that outcrops can
germinate a new plant.
It is
only distributed in Hepu of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. There is only 1
big tree found in the habitat, which seldom blossoms nor fructifies. There are
no seedlings found under it. Hepu in Guangxi is the northeastern end of the
distribution of this genus. It is of great scientific significance for the study
of plantage of China.