12. Aster indicus Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 876. 1753.
马兰 ma lan
Herbs, perennial, 30-70 cm tall; rhizome stoloniferous, sometimes with vertical roots. Stems erect, puberulent above, branched from upper or lower part. Basal leaves withered by anthesis; cauline leaves long winged petiolate, obovate or oblanceolate to obovate-oblong or oblong, 3-6(-10) × 0.8-2(-5) cm, sparsely to densely puberulent or glabrous, sometimes sparsely glandular, base attenuate, margin serrate or pinnately lobed, apex obtuse or acute; upper leaves sessile, small, slightly thin, base abruptly attenuate, margin entire and hispidulous, midvein abaxially prominent. Capitula 8-120 in corymbiform synflorescences. Involucres hemispheric, 0.4-0.5 × 0.6-0.9 cm; phyllaries 3- or 4-seriate, unequal; outer phyllaries oblanceolate, 1.6-3.7(-4) mm; inner phyllaries oblong to obovate or spatulate, 2.5-7.5 mm, abaxially sparsely puberulent, leaflike above, margin scarious, ciliate, apex obtuse or sometimes acute. Receptacle conic. Ray florets 1-seriate, 15-20, tube 1.5-1.7 mm, lamina purplish, ca. 10 × 1.5-2 mm; disk florets ca. 3.5 mm, tube ca. 1.5 mm, densely puberulent. Achenes brown, obovoid-oblong, compressed, 1.5-2 × ca. 1 mm, marginally thickly ribbed, apically glandular and puberulent. Pappus 0.1-0.8 mm, subequal, easily deciduous. Fl. and fr. May-Nov.
Forest margins, grasslands, riverbanks, field margins, roadsides, protected shaded habitats; sea level to 3900 m. Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Taiwan, Yunnan, Zhejiang [India, Japan, Korea, ?Laos, Malaysia, N Myanmar, E Russia, N Thailand, N Vietnam].
Aster indicus has been referred to the American genus Boltonia L’Héritier, but it differs from it in having achenes without long hairs at the top of the marginal ribs and ray floret achenes often thickly 3-ribbed and triangular.
This species is used medicinally to promote digestion and relieve dyspepsia, promote diuresis, dissipate blood stasis, eliminate toxins, and stop bleeding. The young leaves are usually used as a vegetable in the East.
