矮天名精 ai tian ming jing

Herbs, perennial. Rhizome short and stout, with numerous fibrous roots. Stems 12-35 cm tall, simple or branched in upper part, grayish yellow pilose, more densely so on upper part and peduncles. Basal leaves persistent at anthesis, spatulate-oblong, 6-9 × 2.5-4 cm, surfaces glandular, abaxially white pilose, adaxially pubescent, base cuneate, decurrent to very short petiole, margin serrulate or subentire, apex obtuse or acute; upper leaves sessile, oblong to oblong-lanceolate, base cuneate, apex acute. Capitula solitary on stems, branches, or axils, shortly pedunculate; bracteal leaves 3-7, lanceolate, 8-16 mm, pubescent, apex acuminate. Involucre discoid, ca. 8 × 1-1.5 cm; phyllaries 4-seriate, outer ones lanceolate, 7-8 × 2-3.5 mm, herbaceous above, dry membranous below, abaxially pilose, apex acuminate, inner linear, dry membranous, apex acute. Marginal florets tubular, ca. 2 mm, 5-dentate, pubescent. Disk florets 2.5-3 mm, pubescent; limb funnelform, 5-dentate. Achenes ca. 3 mm. Fl. Jul-Sep, fr. Sep-Oct.

● Grassy slopes, river beaches, forest margins; 2000-3700 m. Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan.