耳柄合耳菊 er bing he er ju

Herbs, rhizomatous. Rhizome woody, ascending. Stems erect, striate, purplish, 60-65 cm tall, branching in upper part, 3-4 mm in diam. at base, minutely setulose. Leaves long petiolate, basal leaves withered at anthesis; blade papery, lower leaf petiole 4-5 cm, sparsely puberulent, basally leaflike-expanded, auriculate-amplexicaul, with mucronulate teeth margins; blade abaxially purplish, adaxially green, triangular-ovate or triangular-hastate, 8-10 × 8-9 cm, palmately 5-veined, both surfaces adpressed fulvous pubescent, base deeply cordate or subhastate, margin irregularly dentate, with mucronulate teeth, apex acute or acuminate. Upper leaf petiole 1.5-3.5 cm, fulvous puberulent, basally leaflike-expanded auriculate, amplexicaul; blade smaller, ovate or broadly ovate, 4-5 × 4-4.5 cm, both surfaces fulvous setulose, base subcordate or truncate, margin irregularly dentate with mucronulate teeth, apex acute or acute-acuminate. Uppermost leaves shortly petiolate or subsessile, lanceolate or linear, very small, 1-1.5 cm, margin entire or 2- or 3-denticulate. Capitula discoid, numerous, arranged in terminal corymbose thyrses; peduncles 1-2 mm, densely pubescent, with 1 or 2 scalelike bracts. Involucres cylindric, 1.5-2 × 1.5-2 mm, with 1-3 subulate bracteoles at base; phyllaries 5, oblong, 1-1.5 mm wide, subleathery, sparsely puberulent or subglabrous, obscurely 1-3-veined, margin narrowly scarious, apically obtuse, purplish. Disk florets 5, distinctly exserted beyond phyllaries; corolla yellow-purplish, ca. 5 mm, with 2-2.5 mm tube and narrowly campanulate limb; lobes ovate-lanceolate, apically acute, papillose. Anthers linear, ca. 3 mm; anther tails long; antheropodium stout, basally slightly dilated. Style branches obtuse, fringed with rather short fine papillae. Achenes ca. 2.5 mm, glabrous. Pappus purplish brown. Fl. Sep.

● Picea forests; ca. 3300 m. S Xizang (Gyirong).