革叶蒲儿根 ge ye pu er gen

Herbs, scapigerous. Rhizomes ca. 5 mm in diam., clad in persistent brownish petiole bases, collar densely sericeous-villous. Stems 1-3, erect, scapiform, 10-40 cm tall, slender, simple, sericeous-villous at base, laxly so in lower part, subglabrous or glabrous in upper part. Leaves several, radical, rosulate, long petiolate; petiole 10-20 cm, sparsely villous or subglabrous; blade abaxially pale green or purplish, adaxially green, orbicular, 3-6.5 × 3-8 cm, subleathery, abaxially glabrous or sparsely villous on veins, adaxially glabrous, palmately veined, base deeply or sometimes shallowly cordate, margin irregularly repand-dentate with broadly deltoid, obtuse, apiculate teeth. Capitula 2.5-3 cm in diam., 1-3 in terminal corymbs; peduncles elongate, slender, with basal bract and 2 or 3 bracteoles in upper part; bracteoles linear, 8-15 mm, sparsely villous, apex acute. Involucres broadly campanulate, hemispheric when flattened, 8-10 × 6-10 mm, calyculate with 4 or 5 linear bracteoles; phyllaries 16 or 17, oblong-linear, 2-2.5 mm wide, herbaceous, tomentose at base or glabrous, margin narrowly scarious, apically purplish, ciliate, and acuminate. Ray florets 10-13; corolla tube 5-5.5 mm, glabrous; lamina yellow, ovate-oblong, 16-18 × ca. 2.2 mm, 7-veined, apically 3-denticulate. Disk florets many; corolla yellow, ca. 6.5 mm, with ca. 3.5 mm tube and funnelform campanulate limb; lobes ovate-lanceolate, ca. 1.5 mm, apically acute. Anthers ca. 2.5 mm, base obtuse to rounded, appendages ovate-oblong. Style branches ca. 1 mm. Achenes cylindric, ca. 4.5 mm, smooth, glabrous. Pappus white or sometimes yellowish at base, ca. 6 mm. Fl. Apr-Jun, fr. May-Jul. 2n = 60*.

● On rocks below waterfalls, by streams, woods, shaded places; 800-1800 m. Chongqing (Fengdu, Nanchuan).

Sinosenecio subcoriaceus can be easily distinguished by its relatively larger and fewer capitula. Populations from different habitats vary greatly in plant and leaf size. Individuals growing in woods are up to 40 cm tall, with larger (up to 8 cm wide) and abaxially green leaf blades, whereas those growing on rocks below waterfalls are no more than 15 cm tall, with smaller (ca. 3 cm wide), sometimes abaxially purplish leaf blades.