矮蓝刺头 ai lan ci tou

Herbs 7-16 cm tall, perennial. Stems solitary to few, grayish white, usually unbranched, leafy, densely to thickly cobwebby to lanate. Leaves papery, grayish white, concolorous, both surfaces densely cobwebby to thickly lanate. Basal leaves rosulate, shortly petiolate; leaf blade elliptic to oblanceolate, 2-7 × ca. 1 cm, pinnately lobed, lyrately pinnately lobed, or pinnatifid; segments 3-6 pairs, obliquely ovate to obliquely triangular, apex obtuse. Cauline leaves sessile, semiamplexicaul. Pseudocephalium usually solitary, ca. 3 cm in diam. Capitula ca. 1 cm. Outermost phyllaries oblanceolate, ca. 1 cm, ± equaling involucre, proximal half of margin long ciliate; middle phyllaries lanceolate, ca. 1 cm, margin shortly ciliate around middle, apex spinulose acuminate; inner phyllaries linear-lanceolate, margin shortly ciliate, apex long acuminate. Achene ca. 6 mm, hairs yellow. Pappus scales linear, ca. 1.2 mm, connate at base. Fl. and fr. Aug.

Mountain slopes; ca. 3000 m. SW Xinjiang (Taxkorgan) [Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia].