卵苞风毛菊 luan bao feng mao ju

Saussurea flavovirens Y. L. Chen & S. Yun Liang.

Herbs 2-5[-15] cm tall, perennial, stemless or shortly stemmed. Caudex slender, simple or few branched, covered with dark brown remains of petioles. Rosette leaves petiolate; petiole 5-10 mm, base enlarged to an ovate sheath; leaf blade linear, 2.5-6[-11] × 0.2-0.5[-1.5] cm, pinnately lobed or pinnately dentate, abaxially pale green and sparsely pilose on veins and margin, adaxially green and glabrous; lateral lobes or teeth 3-7 pairs, obliquely triangular, recurved, margin entire or dentate, apex acuminate. Capitulum solitary, in center of leaf rosette or terminal on a short stem. Involucre campanulate, [0.6-]1-1.5 cm in diam. Phyllaries in 4 or 5 rows, yellowish green, glabrous, apex acuminate; outer phyllaries narrowly ovate, 8-11 × 3-4[-5] mm, apically green, apex reflexed; middle and inner phyllaries narrowly elliptic-linear, 10-15[-18] × 1-3 mm, apically purplish red. Receptacle naked or with few short bristles. Corolla purplish red, 2-2.3 cm, tube 1-1.2 cm, limb 8-11 mm, lobes 5-5.5 mm. Achene cylindric, 3-4 mm, transversely rugose, apex with a short crown. Pappus reddish brown; outer bristles short, scabrid, sometimes very few or absent; inner bristles 1.5-1.8 cm. Fl. and fr. Aug-Oct.

Alpine meadows, thickets; 3500-4300 m. S Xizang (Yadong), NW Yunnan (Fugong, Gongshan) [India (Sikkim)].