红缨合耳菊 hong ying he er ju

Senecio erythropappus Bureau & Franchet, J. Bot. (Morot) 5: 73. 1891; Cacalia diantha (Franchet) Handel-Mazzetti; S. dianthus Franchet; S. glumaceus Dunn; S. paucinervis Dunn; S. talongensis Franchet; S. viridiflavus Handel-Mazzetti; Vernonia mairei H. Léveillé.

Herbs, rhizomatous. Rhizome woody. Stems solitary or several, erect or rarely decumbent, to 100 cm tall, usually branching in synflorescence, leafless in lower part at anthesis, fulvous pubescent, arachnoid-pubescent, or subglabrous, glabrescent. Leaves long petiolate; petiole 2-6 cm, sparsely pubescent, subglabrescent; blade ovate, ovate-lanceolate, or oblong-lanceolate, 10-20 × 2.5-7 cm, papery or thinly so, abaxially pubescent especially on veins to subglabrous, adaxially sparsely pubescent to glabrous, pinnately veined, lateral veins 6-10, arcuate-ascending, prominent abaxially, base cordate, subtruncate, rounded, or cuneate, margin regularly and closely to coarsely and unequally shallowly to deeply serrate or dentate, apex acuminate or caudate-acuminate. Upper and branch leaves smaller, shortly petiolate, narrowly lanceolate. Capitula homogamous, discoid, very numerous, arranged in terminal and upper axillary, usually abundant, broadly pyramidal compound thyrses, shortly pedunculate or subsessile; peduncles very short, usually with 1 linear bract. Involucres narrowly cylindric, 4-5 × 1-1.5 mm, calyculate; bracts of calyculus 3 or 4, minute; phyllaries 2 or 3(or 4), linear-oblong, herbaceous, sometimes white tomentose or pubescent, especially at base, or glabrous, margin broadly scarious, apically obtuse and puberulent. Ray florets absent. Disk florets (1 or)2 or 3(or 4); corolla pale yellow, 7.5-8 mm, with 2-3 mm tube and long-exserted funnelform limb; lobes oblong-lanceolate, 1.5-2 mm, apically acute. Anthers ca. 3.5 mm; anther tails ca. 0.5 × as long as antheropodia; appendages ovate-lanceolate; antheropodia robust, basally dilated. Style branches 1.5-2 mm, fringed with rather long fine papillae, terminal tuft not distinctive. Achenes 3-3.5 mm, sparsely pubescent. Pappus dirty white to pale reddish brown, ca. 6 mm. Fl. Jul-Oct.

● Forests, thicket margins, open grassy places; 1500-3900 m. W Hubei, Sichuan, SE Xizang, Yunnan.