台湾蜂斗菜 tai wan feng dou cai

Rhizomes long creeping, ca. 1 cm in diam., with many fibrous roots. Stems scapiform, few, fascicled, erect, 25-30 cm tall, simple, densely brown shortly pubescent and arachnoid-lanate. Basal leaves long petiolate; petiole 15-30 cm, base dilated, glabrous; blade adaxially green, cordate or reniform, 5-8 × 7-12 cm, abaxially sparsely arachnoid-pubescent especially on veins, adaxially shortly pubescent, basally palmately veined, thicker, base deeply or slightly cordate, margin with mucronulate teeth, apex rounded. Stem leaves sessile, bractlike, oblong-lanceolate or oblong, rarely ovate-oblong, 2-4(-6) × 1-1.8 cm, densely arachnoid, parallel veined, base subamplexicaul, margin entire, apex acute or acuminate. Capitula numerous, arranged in a paniculate synflorescence; synflorescence of male capitula 8-10 cm wide, synflorescence of female capitula 7-8 cm wide; peduncles 5-20 mm, slender, shortly brown pubescent; bracts 2-5, linear or linear-lanceolate, 4-5 mm. Involucres campanulate, 8-9 × 10-14 mm; phyllaries uniseriate, purple when dry, oblong or oblong-lanceolate, 3- or 4-veined, apex acute or acuminate, sparsely puberulent. Florets in male capitula mostly or entirely male; corolla tubular, 7-10 mm; limb campanulate-funnel-shaped, 5-lobed; lobes ovate, 1-1.5 mm; anthers basally obtuse; style dilated in upper part, 2-fid below stigma, papillose; corolla in female florets filiform, 8-9 mm, apex irregularly 4-lobed; lobes linear, unequal, ca. 2.5 mm; style filiform, exceeding corolla, apex 2-fid. Male florets few in female capitula; peduncles 7-15 mm, stout. Achenes cylindric, glabrous. Pappus of many capillary-like bristles, white, ca. 6 mm. Fl. May.

● Grasslands on mountains; 1500-2500 m. Taiwan.