湖南紫菀 hu nan zi wan

Herbs, perennial, ca. 35 cm tall, rhizomatous and shortly stoloniferous. Stems erect, solitary, slender, glabrate, branched in upper part, loosely leafy. Leaves glabrous on both surfaces or abaxial veins sparsely strigillose, thick, margin slightly revolute, remotely serrate (teeth mucronate), sparsely scabrous, 3-veined, 2- or 3-paired lateral veins abaxially prominent, conspicuously reticulate veined; lower leaves (not observed) long broadly winged petiolate (petiole equaling blade); blade ovate or subelliptic, 6-7 × 3-4 cm, abruptly attenuate, apex acute or obtuse; middle leaves shortly petiolate, broadly winged and ± subclasping or not winged; blade oblong-lanceolate or elliptic, 4-7 × 1.5-2.5 cm, abruptly attenuate or rounded, apex acuminate; upper leaves gradually reduced, petiolate or base ± subclasping, margin shallowly serrate or entire. Capitula in axils of leaves or terminal, solitary and overall in paniculate-corymbiform synflorescences, 2-3.5 cm in diam.; peduncles 0.5-2.5 cm; bracts linear. Involucres campanulate, 5-7 mm in diam.; phyllaries 3- or 4-seriate, unequal, apex green, oblong, 3-4 × ca. 1 mm, abaxially glabrous, margin scarious, erose, ciliate, apex rounded or obtuse. Ray florets ?purplish (immature); disk florets (immature) 3.5-4 mm, tube ca. 1.5 mm, lobes ca. 0.8 mm. Achenes (immature) obovoid, ca. 2 mm, slightly compressed, 2-4-ribbed, with white short hairs. Pappus (immature) dirty white, of many unequal bristles 1.5-2 mm. Fr. Aug.

● 500-800 m. SW Hunan (Anhua).

The glabrate or glabrous stems and leaves are distinctive of Aster hunanensis.