西藏香青 xi zang xiang qing

Rhizome thickish, shrublike, branching; sobols numerous, with withered leaves at upper parts, rosette leaves terminal, with densely caespitose flowering stems. Stems erect, 15-35 cm, slender, simple, woody at base, usually persistent, arachnoid laxly lanate and with capitate cauliferous tentacles, somewhat glabrous at lower parts, densely leafy. Lower leaves shorter and caducous and lost by anthesis; middle leaves somewhat spreading, linear, 2-3.5 × 0.3-0.5 cm, base decurrent and becoming a narrow and long wing, margin sinuous and recurved, apex slightly obtuse; upper leaves small, acuminate; all leaves densely white lanate abaxially, green adaxially, with capitate cauliferous tentacles, 1-veined, somewhat raised abaxially. Capitula 10 or numerous, terminal on stems and branches, compound corymbiform; peduncle absent; common peduncle of synflorescence white lanate. Involucre narrowly campanulate, 4-6 × 3-4 mm; phyllaries 4- or 5-seriate; outer phyllaries light or deep brownish, broadly ovate, ca. 2.5 mm, irregularly toothed-scissile, lanate; middle ones light lutescent, elliptic, 4.2-5 × ca. 2 mm, apex rounded and obtuse; innermost ones spatulate-linear, somewhat short, with a claw ca. 2/3 of full length. Involucre of female florets usually small. Receptacle with fimbrillate short hairs. Center of predominantly female capitula with female florets and 1-4 male florets; predominantly male capitula with male florets only. Corolla 3.5-4 mm. Pappus slightly equal to corolla, incrassate at tip of apex in male florets, dentate. Achene oblong, ca. 0.8 mm, villosulous. Fl. Jul-Aug, fr. Aug-Sep.

● Sunny alpine and subalpine conifer forests, shrub forests or hillsides. S Xizang.

No specimens of this species were seen by the second author.