大头蒲公英 da tou pu gong ying

Herbs 10-15(-25) cm tall. Petiole usually purplish or greenish, unwinged; leaf blade mid-green, ± linear to linear-oblanceolate, (4-)6-9(-15) × 0.6-1(-1.5) cm, ± subglabrous, margin usually pinnatisect or rarely ± entire; lateral lobes 4-6 pairs, linear-triangular to narrowly triangular, 3-8 × 3-4 mm, recurved, margin entire; interlobes short, 3-4 mm wide, margin entire; terminal lobe elongated, linear-triangular, base sagittate, margin entire, apex acute. Scapes greenish, sparsely arachnoid mainly below capitulum. Capitulum 2-2.5 cm wide. Involucre 7-10 mm wide, base rounded. Outer phyllaries 13-17, deep green to dark green, conspicuously imbricate, ovate to broadly ovate, outermost ones 4-5(-7.5) × (2-)2.5-3.5 mm and 1/4-1/2 as long as inner ones, appressed, with a distinct whitish membranous 0.4-0.8 mm border, margin glabrous to sparsely ciliate at apex, apex ± corniculate; inner phyllaries 1-1.3 cm, ± corniculate below apex. Ligules inside yellow to pale yellow; outer ligules flat, outside striped gray. Stigmas pale green. Anthers polliniferous; pollen grains irregular in size. Achene grayish straw-colored brown, 3.9-4.5 mm; body apically subsparsely spinulose, gradually narrowing into a ± cylindric 0.9-1.2 mm cone, spinules thin, erect-patent; beak 5-7(-8) mm, thin. Pappus slightly yellowish white, 5-6 mm. Fl. summer. Agamosperm.

Wet subsaline meadows, pastures along rivers; 3600-4000 m. SW Xinjiang [Tajikistan].