鄂西蒲儿根 e xi pu er gen

Herbs, with leafy stems. Rhizomes ca. 8 mm in diam. Stems solitary, erect, to 55 cm, 5-6 mm in diam. at base, simple, sparsely pubescent when young, glabrescent. Radical leaves few, long petiolate; petiole 6-16.5 cm, ± glabrous, rather dilated at base; blade abaxially pale green, adaxially green, reniform, 5-15 × 5.5-18 cm, submembranous, both surfaces at first sparsely pubescent or glabrous, palmately yellowish green 5-7-veined, base broadly cordate or subtruncate, palmately 7-9-lobed to middle; lobes oblong-lanceolate, laterally 2- or 3-dentate or lobulate with callose-mucronulate teeth or lobules, apically acute or acuminate, mucronulate. Stem leaves usually 2-4, lower leaves similar to radical ones, upward smaller, shortly petiolate; uppermost leaves ovate-lanceolate, base cuneate, margin 5-7-dentate or lobulate, apex acute or acuminate. Capitula 2.5-3 cm in diam., 3 or 4(-7), arranged in terminal or axillary subumbelliform corymbs; peduncles 3-5.5 cm, stout, expanded at apex, sparsely fulvous villous, not bracteate. Involucres obconic-campanulate, 7-8 × 6-8 mm; phyllaries 13, oblong-lanceolate, ca. 2 mm wide, 3-5-veined, sparsely fulvous villous, apex rather acute or obtuse, white ciliate. Ray florets ca. 11; corolla tube 2-2.5 mm, glabrous; lamina yellow, oblong-elliptic, ca. 11 × 3-4 mm, 4-veined, apically 3-denticulate, obtuse. Disk florets many; corolla yellow, ca. 3 mm, with ca. 1.5 mm tube and campanulate limb; lobes ovate-lanceolate, apically acute. Anthers oblong, ca. 1.5 mm, basally obtuse, appendages ovate-oblong. Ovary cylindric, 1.3-1.5 mm, smooth, glabrous; style branches recurved. Pappus absent. Fl. Apr, fr. May-Jun. 2n = 48*.

● Wet places on slopes, woods; ca. 1400 m. W Hubei (Hefeng).

Sinosenecio palmatisectus is very similar to S. albonervius in the leaves palmately divided but differs by the leaf blade at first sparsely pubescent adaxially, later glabrescent, 7-9-palmatilobed to the middle, the lobes oblong-lanceolate, and the veins yellowish green adaxially.