''Mazus gracilis'' is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the family ''

Mazaceae Mazaceae is a family of plants in the order Lamiales. The family was described by James L. Reveal in 2011. Genera in this family were most recently previously included in Phrymaceae and in older classifications were placed in Scrophulariaceae. ...

''. It is native to the Provinces of

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

Jiangxi ; Gan: ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = , translit_lang1_type3 = , translit_lang1_info3 = , image_map = Jiangxi in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_caption = Location ...

and

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. It grows on lake shores, river banks, and other moist areas at elevations below 800 m. ''Mazus gracilis'' is a perennial herb spreading by means of

stolons In biology, a stolon ( from Latin '' stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as a runner, is a horizontal connection between parts of an organism. It may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton. Typically, animal stolons ar ...

running along the surface of the ground for as far as 30 cm (12 inches). Leaves are up to 2.5 cm long. Flowers are born in

axil A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, fl ...

lary racemes. Flowers are yellow, white or purple, sometimes with spots of another color.Hemsley, William Botting, & Forbes, Francis Blackwell. 1890. Enumeration of all the plants known from China proper, Formosa, Hainan, the Corea, the Luchu Archipelago, and the Island of Hongkong, together with their distribution and synonymy, continued from volume XXIII. Journal of the Linnean Society, Botany vol XXVI.
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References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15246224 gracilis Flora of Henan Flora of Hubei Flora of Jiangsu Flora of Jiangxi Flora of Zhejiang Taxa named by William Hemsley (botanist)