Microchirita in Peninsular Malaysia 
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Branching, monopodial, herbaceous, short-lived plant. Stems pale green, reddish green 
or purplish, succulent, to 36 cm tall, 4-7 mm diameter, slightly pubescent, sometimes or 
rarely glabrous, internodes to 11 cm long. Leaves decussate; petioles green, sometimes 
maroon, 2-10 cm long, pubescent; lamina ovate to broadly ovate, 5.5-11 x 3.5-7 cm, 
yellowish green to dark green above, pale green or whitish green beneath, soft when 
fresh, chartaceous when dry, sparsely pubescent, base rounded or subcordate, unequal, 
margin serrulate, apex acute; midrib sunken above, prominent beneath, pubescent 
beneath, lateral veins 6-8 pairs on each side of the midrib, intercostal veins reticulate. 
Inflorescences axillary, cymose, to 6-llowered; peduncles, bracts and pedicels 
sparsely glandular hairy; peduncle 1.8-3 cm long, not fused to petiole; bracts dark 
green, opposite, in pairs, leaf-like, 10-20 x 9-15 mm; pedicels pale green, sometimes 
greenish maroon or downy, shortly fused to the petiole, 1-2 cm long, sparsely 
glandular hairy. Calyx pale green, clasping the tube, lobes narrowly triangular or very 
narrowly ovate, 5-6 mm long, 1-2 mm wide, margin ciliate, outer surface glandular 
and eglandular hairy. Corolla very sparsely hairy outside, corolla tube usually lilac 
or pale purple, sometimes dark purple, 1.4-2 cm long, slightly curved, 2-3 mm wide 
at the base, throat dark red; lobes plain or very faintly striped, upper lobe sometimes 
dark or violet blue, the lower lobes dark pink or dark purple, upper lobes triangular, not 
spreading, 3-3.5 x 5-6 mm, lower lateral lobes elliptic, 5-6 x 4-5 mm, lower central 
lobe elliptic, 5-6 x 8-9 mm Stamens, filaments white, inserted at 6-10 mm from the 
base of the corolla, c. 6 mm long, straight, glabrous; anthers purplish white or dark 
purple; anther-thecae divergent, 1-2 mm long; staminodes 2, white, vestigial, inserted 
at 6-7 mm from the base of the corolla tube, 4-5 mm long, hairy, sometimes glabrous. 
Nectary cream or pale yellow, entirely cylindric, to 1 mm long. Pistil whitish green; 
ovary 5-9 mm long, 1.5 mm wide at the base, narrowing to 0.5 mm below the stigma, 
glabrous; style to 6 mm long; stigma pale brown or whitish purple, shallowly bilobed, 
1-2 mm long, slightly bent backwards when mature, with very fine papillose hairs 
above; ovules cream, less than 1 mm long. Capsule pale to dark green, to 5.5 cm long, 
1-2.5 mm wide, slightly curved, erect or horizontal, glabrous, slightly hairy towards 
tip; calyx persistent, green, hairy. Seeds yellowish cream to brown, many, 315-380 x 
120-250 pm, narrowly ellipsoid to broadly ellipsoid, surface canaliculate, each testa 
cell or square with up to 6 knobs or bumps. 
Distribution. Peninsular Thailand, Cambodia, southern Vietnam and Malaysia (Kedah, 
Kelantan and Pahang). 
Habitat and ecology. Growing in limestone crevices and shady places. On Langkawi, 
Kedah, on limestone hills by the sea and, inland, at the base of limestone cliffs or on 
rich damp soil around cave mouths. 
Provisional IUCN conservation status. Least Concern (LC). Populations occur in 
Taman Negara (The National Park) and it is the most common species found in the 
northern and eastern part of Malay Peninsula. 
