红角蒲公英 hong jiao pu gong ying

Herbs 5-10 cm tall. Petiole usually greenish, seldom pinkish, ± narrowly winged; leaf blade mid-green to slightly bluish green, ± linear, 5-7(-8) × 0.6-0.9(-1.1) cm, ± subglabrous or glabrous, margin usually sinuate-dentate to pinnatilobed but often entire to subentire; lateral lobes 4-8 pairs, linear to linear-triangular, to 6 × 0.5-1.3 mm, usually patent, sometimes recurved or curved upward, margin ± entire; interlobes 5-10 mm, entire; terminal lobe often elongated, to 1.5 cm, sometimes not distinct, entire. Scapes greenish brown, subequaling leaves, sparsely arachnoid, later glabrescent. Capitulum 2-2.5 cm wide. Involucre 6-8 mm wide, base rounded. Outer phyllaries 8 or 9(-13), ± not imbricate, broadly ovate to ovate-lanceolate, outermost ones 4-5 × 2.7-3 mm and 2/5-1/2 as long as inner ones, appressed to loosely so, middle ones dark green and 0.8-1.5 mm wide, with a gradual transition into a pale whitish green or membranous 0.5-0.8(-1) mm border, margin glabrous to sparsely ciliate at apex, apex callose to corniculate; inner phyllaries 1-1.1 cm, ± corniculate below apex. Ligules flat; outer ligules outside striped greenish gray to pinkish gray, inside white; inner ligules pale yellowish at base but otherwise white. Stigmas pale grayish yellowish green. Anthers polliniferous; pollen grains irregular in size. Achene grayish straw-colored brown, (3.5-)3.8-4.2(-4.5) mm; body apically subsparsely spinulose, subgradually narrowing into a ± cylindric medium-thick (0.7-)0.9-1.2 mm cone, spinules coarse; beak 3-4.2 mm, ± thin. Pappus brownish pinkish white, 5-6 mm. Fl. summer. Agamosperm. 2n = 24.

Subsaline meadows, along streams; 2800-5000 m. SW Xinjiang, S Xizang [India, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan].