翘喙马先蒿 qiao hui ma xian hao

Herbs perennial, to 40 cm tall, drying ± black. Roots fleshy. Stems erect, unbranched, sparsely pubescent. Basal leaf petiole 7--9 cm, glabrescent; leaf blade linear-oblong to linear-lanceolate, 8--12 X 1.5--2.2 cm, abaxially sparsely pubescent along veins, adaxially sparsely pubescent, pinnatipartite to pinnatisect; segments 18--22 pairs, ovate-oblong to ovate-lanceolate, pinnatifid, margin double dentate. Stem leaves few, similar to basal leaves but smaller and shorter petiolate. Inflorescences 15--20 cm; bracts 1--1.5 cm X ca. 6 mm, sparsely pubescent. Flowers in whorls of 4. Calyx cylindric, ca. 1.2 cm, 1/3 cleft anteriorly; lobes 5, unequal, posterior lobe smallest, glabrescent or pubescent along veins, serrate. Corolla purplish red, glandular pubescent; tube ca. 1.8 cm, bent at a right angle apically; galea often twisted; beak to 1.5 cm, slender, S-shaped; lower lip shorter than galea, middle lobe prominent. Filaments villous. Fl. Jul--Aug, fr. Sep.

* Alpine meadows; 4000--4200 m. NW Yunnan.