短刺鹤虱 duan ci he shi

Echinospermum brachycentrum Ledebour, Fl. Altaic. 1: 203. 1829.

Herbs biennial, gray appressed pubescent. Taproots straight, dark brown. Stems much branched above middle, 20-35 cm tall. Basal leaves forming a rosette, mostly withered in fruit; leaf blade oblong to spatulate, 2-4 cm, abaxially densely gray appressed sericeous, adaxially green and sparsely long appressed pubescent, base attenuate into a short petiole, apex obtuse; stem leaves sessile, linear, 1-2.5 cm, margin spreading ciliate, apex obtuse. Inflorescences terminal on branches, elongated in fruit; bracts linear. Fruiting pedicel erect, 1-2 mm. Calyx 5-parted; lobes linear, ca. 2 mm, slightly enlarged in fruit. Corolla light blue; tube ca. 2 mm; limb ca. 4-5 mm wide; lobes ovate. Style surpassing nutlets, 1-1.5 mm. Fruit ovoid, ca. 2.5 mm; nutlets triangular-ovoid, adaxially granulose; abaxially granulose, sometimes obscurely keeled along center line; marginal glochids in 1 or 2 rows, protruding, ca. 0.5 mm.

Sunny slopes, arid terraces, semideserts, mountain meadows; 800-2800 m. Xinjiang [Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan]

Lappula ramulosa C. J. Wang & X. D. Wang may be a synonym of L. brachycentra.