轮叶蟹甲草 lun ye xie jia cao

Senecio cyclotus Bureau & Franchet, J. Bot. (Morot) 5: 74. 1891; Cacalia cyclota (Bureau & Franchet) Handel-Mazzetti; Koyamacalia cyclota (Bureau & Franchet) H. Robinson & Brettell.

Rhizomes robust, ca. 1.5 cm in diam. Stem solitary, erect, 80-100 cm tall, long naked, or with few ovate scales in lower part, sparsely arachnoid above, subglabrous below, sulcate. Lower leaves fallen by anthesis; petiole expanded into ca. 2.5 cm wide, entire or laxly toothed auricle; blade adaxially green, obovate-spatulate, 5-10(-16) × 3-8(-10) cm, papery, lyrate-pinnate; lobes ovate-oblong or obovate, abaxially sparsely or densely arachnoid-tomentose, or ± glabrescent, adaxially sparsely adpressed shortly hairy, base decurrent into broadly winged petiole, apex acute or shortly acute, unequally triangularly toothed, teeth mucronulate. Upper leaves smaller; uppermost leaves often rudimentary as linear or linear-lanceolate bracts. Capitula numerous, arranged in racemes, or sometimes 1- or 2-branched, lateral, pendulous; peduncles very short, 2-4 mm, with linear-lanceolate bractlets at base. Involucres cylindric, 8-10 × 2-3 mm; phyllaries 5 or 6, lanceolate, 8-10 × ca. 1.5 mm, puberulent, margin scarious, apically obtuse. Florets 5 or 6(or 7); corolla yellow, ca. 8 mm, with slender tube and ca. 3 mm, narrowly campanulate limb; lobes lanceolate. Anthers exserted from corolla, basally caudate. Style branches excurved, truncate, papillose. Achenes yellow-brown, cylindric, ca. 4 mm, ribbed. Pappus white, 6-7 mm. Fl. and fr. Aug-Sep.

● Understories of forests on slopes, forest margins, grasslands, roadsides; 2200-3600 m. W Sichuan.

Parasenecio cyclotus is similar to P. souliei but differs in having leaves lyrate-pinnate, petiole with entire or toothed auricle ca. 2.5 cm wide, and florets 5 or 6.