高山玄参 gao shan xuan shen

Herbs, to 25 cm tall. Rhizomes elongated, woody. Stems mostly fascicled, apically slightly curved, hollow. Basal leaves scalelike. Stem leaves petiole 3-4 mm, narrowly winged; leaf blade ovate to elliptic-ovate, to 3.5 cm, glabrous, base broadly cuneate to rounded, margin coarsely and irregularly double serrate. Thyrses surpassing upper leaves, capitate, to 2 cm; cymes often 1-flowered. Calyx ca. 3 mm, deeply lobed; lobes subequal, subovate to oblong, margin 2- or 3-toothed, apex obtuse to truncate. Corolla yellow, 7-9 mm; tube subglobose, somewhat inflated, 4-5 mm; lower lip lobes unequal; upper lip 1-2 mm longer than lower lip, lobe margins not overlapping. Stamens as long as lower lip; staminode apex narrow to semiorbicular. Ovary ca. 2 mm. Style 4-5 mm. Capsule subglobose, 6-7 mm in diam. Fl. Jul-Sep, fr. Sep.

* Alpine grassland, sandy mountain slopes; 3000-4100 m. NW Yunnan.