雀苣 que ju

Phaenopus orientalis Boissier, Voy. Bot. Espagne 2: 390. 1841; Lactuca viminea J. Presl & C. Presl var. erostris Regel; Scariola orientalis (Boissier) Soják.

Subshrubs (10-)20-60 cm tall, glabrous or subglabrous, spinescent, branched from base. Stems whitish, rigid, intricately and divaricately branched. Leaves glaucous green. Basal leaves rosulate, sinuate-dentate to pinnately lobed; lateral lobes 2-4 pairs, triangular, retrorse, apex acute. Stem leaves similar to basal leaves but smaller, less incised, and basally with linear auricles adnately long decurrent on stem. Capitulum solitary, terminal and pedunculate or lateral and sessile, with 4(or 5) florets; peduncle (when present) subulate, remaining as a spine after shedding of capitulum. Involucre narrowly cylindric, 7-10 mm at anthesis, to 1.5 cm in fruit. Phyllaries green to bluish purple; outer phyllaries ovate, abaxially pubescent; inner phyllaries 3(or 4), apex obtuse. Florets pale yellow. Achene 7-8 mm; body brownish, narrowly ellipsoid, 1-1.3 mm wide, with 5-7 ribs on either side; beak concolorous, stout, 2-3 mm. Pappus 7-8 mm, caducous. 2n = 18, 36.

Mountain slopes and scree, on clay or loamy soil, on lime deposits, on gravel, in dry ravines; below 3800 m. Xinjiang [Kashmir, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan; SW Asia].

Lactuca orientalis reaches China apparently only in the extreme northwest. No material from China was seen; the description is based on material from outside of China and the habitat data is from Fl. URSS (29: 321. 1964).