Daphne kiusiana, a small
evergreen shrub less than 1m in height, inhabits forests or their
edges, with green barks at first, then purple-brown later. Leaves
are of alternate phyllotaxis, blades measuring 4-16cm long, 1.5-4cm
wide, in the shape of a long-oblong or oblanceolate, with entire
margins. Leaf surfaces are glossy and with no hairs as with
backsides. Flowers are dioecious; branch tips give birth to several
flowers in a head-shaped way. Calyx tubes are white, fleshy, and
thick, 8-10mm in length, tips cleft in four, with dense hairs on the
outsides. Drupes are spherical, 0.8mm in diameter, mature red in
June. Bloom time: February-April. |