西南蒲儿根 xi nan pu er gen

Basionym: Senecio confervifer H. Léveillé, Fl. Kouy-Tchéou, 105. 1914-1915 ["conferviferus"; p. 104: "conferviverus"]; S. bodinieri Vaniot var. elatior Vaniot; S. bodinieri var. elatissimus Handel-Mazzetti; Sinosenecio elatior (Vaniot) B. Nordenstam; S. elatissimus (Handel-Mazzetti) B. Nordenstam.

Herbs, scapigerous. Rhizomes 5-10 mm in diam., clad in persistent brown petiole bases. Stems solitary, sometimes 2-5, erect, scapiform, 10-65 cm tall, villous with brown hairs, especially in lower part, fulvous tomentose near apex, with 1 or 2 shortly petiolate bractlike leaves in upper part. Leaves several, radical, rosulate; petiole 2-20 cm, densely villous with long reddish brown hairs; blade abaxially pale green or purplish, adaxially lustrous, green or deep green, orbicular or suborbicular, 1.5-6 × 2-6 cm, subleathery, abaxially sparsely villous or pubescent on veins, somewhat shortly ciliate with purplish brown hairs on margins, adaxially densely or sparsely villous or glabrous, palmately 5-7-veined, base cordate or subtruncate, margin repand or lobed, with rounded or broadly deltoid mucronulate or obscurely mucronulate shallow teeth or lobes. Capitula 1.5-2 cm in diam., 1-7(-10 or more), arranged in terminal corymbs, at first rather dense, becoming lax; peduncles 1-6 cm, slender, pubescent or subglabrous, with basal bract and 2 or 3 bracteoles; bracts and bracteoles linear or linear-spatulate, 5-10 mm. Involucres campanulate, 5-7 × 5-7 mm, not calyculate; phyllaries ca. 13, lanceolate or broadly lanceolate, 6-7 × 1-1.5 mm, herbaceous, inconspicuously 3-veined, puberulent, margin broadly scarious, apically acuminate or obtuse, ciliate at apex and on upper margin. Ray florets ca. 13, 9-13 mm; corolla tube 2.5-3 mm, glabrous; lamina yellow, oblong, 8-9 × 1.5-2 mm, 4-veined, apically 3-denticulate. Disk florets many; corolla yellow, ca. 4.5 mm with ca. 2 mm tube and campanulate; lobes ovate-lanceolate, ca. 1.5 mm, apically acute. Anthers oblong, ca. 1.5 mm, base obtuse to rounded, appendages lanceolate. Style branches recurved, ca. 0.8 mm. Achenes cylindric, ca. 1.8 mm, smooth, glabrous. Pappus white, 4-4.5 mm. Fl. Apr-Jun, fr. May-Jul. 2n = 48*.

● Hillsides, streamsides, woods, shaded places; 500-2200 m. Chongqing, Guizhou, W Hunan, SE Sichuan, NE Yunnan.

Sinosenecio confervifer is very similar to S. bodinieri, distinguishable only by its leaf blade orbicular or suborbicular, base cordate or subtruncate, and margin shortly ciliate.