Laportea medogensis C. J. Chen

This is a remarkable but little-collected species; more collections are needed to understand its relationships.

Herbs, often with fusiform tuberous roots, monoecious. Stems 30-60 cm tall, straight, simple, without axillary bulbils; stem and petioles puberulent and very densely armed with stinging hairs. Leaves regularly alternate; stipules early caducous, lanceolate, 10-14 mm, puberulent along rib abaxially, apex 2-cleft; petiole 4-8 cm; leaf blade greenish, broadly ovate, 14-17 × 9-12 cm, herbaceous or submembranous, 3-veined, lateral basal pair reaching middle, lateral veins 5 or 6 each side of midvein, anastomosing before margin, abaxial surface with short, stinging and setulose hairs on veins, adaxial surface with stinging hairs, base shallowly cordate, rarely subtruncate, margin coarsely dentate, each tooth with 1 apical stinging hair, apex short acuminate, acumen entire; cystoliths minutely punctiform, adaxially conspicuous. Male inflorescences in proximal axils, paniculate, 2-4 cm; female inflorescences in distal axils, at least 4 cm (when young), densely armed with stinging hairs. Male flowers shortly pedicellate or subsessile, in bud 1-1.2 mm; perianth lobes 5, puberulent at apex, apex not corniculate; stamens 5; rudimentary ovary obpyramidal, ca. 0.6 mm. Female flowers pedicellate; perianth lobes 4, almost free, strongly unequal, dorsal lobe the largest, concave, ca. 0.9 × 1.2 mm, apex obtuse, 2 lateral (inner) lobes elliptic-ovate, ca. 0.8 mm, apex acute, ventral lobe smallest, narrowly ovate, ca. 0.4 mm. Ovary stipitate, triangular-ovoid; stigma filiform, ca. 2-3 mm. Achene unknown. Fl. Jan.

SE Xizang (Mêdog).

* Moist places of evergreen forests, along streams; 800-1600 m.