九华蒲儿根 jiu hua pu er gen

Herbs, subscapigerous or with leafy stems. Rhizomes 5-8 mm in diam., collar white tomentose and clad in remains of persistent petiole bases. Stems solitary or several, erect, 13-40 cm tall, simple, villous with multicellular hairs and white with ± deciduous floccose tomentum. Radical leaves few, rosulate, long petiolate; petiole 3.5-6 cm, densely brown villous and ± arachnoid-tomentose, basally expanded; blade orbicular, 2-5 × 2-6 cm, abaxially white floccose-tomentose, adaxially adpressed pubescent and at first sparsely to densely white tomentose, palmately 5-7-veined, base cordate, margin repand-dentate, with broad mucronulate teeth. Stem leaves 3-7, rarely 2; blade similar to basal ones; petiole winged in lower part, expanded into rounded subamplexicaul auricle; auricles larger or smaller upward; uppermost leaves sometimes sessile, blade confluent with auricle. Capitula usually 3-9 arranged in terminal corymbs, ca. 2 cm in diam.; peduncles 1-8 cm, densely white tomentose, not bracteate. Involucres campanulate, ca. 7 × 8 mm, not calyculate; phyllaries ca. 13, oblong-lanceolate, ca. 7 × 1.5-2 mm, white arachnoid-tomentose, ± glabrescent, margin broadly scarious, apically acute or acuminate, reddish purple and ciliate. Ray florets ca. 15; corolla tube 1.5-2 mm; lamina yellow, oblong, 7.5-8 × 1.5-1.7 mm, 4-veined, apically 3-denticulate, obtuse. Disk florets many; corolla yellow, ca. 6 mm, with 1-1.5 mm tube and campanulate limb; lobes ovate-oblong, ca. 1 mm, apically acute. Anthers ca. 1.2 mm, basally obtuse to rounded, appendages lanceolate. Style branches ca. 0.8 mm. Achenes cylindric, ca. 2 mm, sparsely puberulent, papillate. Pappus white, ca. 2 mm. Fl. Mar-May, fr. May-Jun. 2n = 48*.

● Canal sides, shaded wet places, woods, on rocks near mountain summits; 200-1700 m. Anhui, E Hunan, Jiangxi.

Sinosenecio jiuhuashanicus is closely related to S. latouchei but differs in the stem somewhat stouter, erect; stem leaves 3-7; leaf blade adaxially pubescent with appressed hairs, or sparsely or densely white tomentose; and leaf auricles larger in size.