Herbs, perennial. Leaves alternate; basal leaves long petiolate; stem leaves sessile and semiamplexicaul. Capitula large, usually solitary or 2-6(-8) laxly corymbose, radiate; involucre hemispheric or broadly campanulate; phyllaries 2(or 3)-seriate, herbaceous, subequal; outer phyllaries lanceolate, oblong-lanceolate, or lanceolate-linear; inner phyllaries linear or linear-lanceolate, laxly pubescent or glandular, apex long acuminate. Receptacle slightly raised, glabrous or hairy, heterogamous, all florets fertile. Ray florets uniseriate, female. Disk florets many seriate, bisexual, tubular, yellow; limb cylindric or campanulate, 5-lobed. Anther bases entire or ± auriculate, filamentous cells equal in size, appendages ovate, style 2-lobed, style branches shortly linear, apex rounded or truncate, puberulent. Achenes oblong or oblong-obconic, glabrous or adpressed hairy, ribbed; pappus of many fine bristles, white or reddish, usually absent in ray florets.

The capitula of the genus are large and colorful. Some species are often cultivated as ornamental plants and some used medicinally.

Doronicum is morphologically and chemically anomalous in the Senecioneae, and molecular data place it either outside the tribe or basally in the tribe (Pelser et al., Taxon 56: 1077-1104. 2007; Nordenstam et al. in V. A. Funk et al., Syst. Evol. Biogeogr. Compositae, 503-525. 2009). Thus, it may be treated either as the only genus of tribe Doroniceae Panero (Phytologia 87(1): 1. 2005), or the name Doroniceae may be treated within synonymy of the Senecioneae.

Doronicum bargusinense Sergievskaya var. pilosum C. H. An (Fl. Xinjiang. 5: 477. 1999) is of uncertain status and could not be treated here because no material was seen by the present authors.

About 40 species: temperate N Africa, Asia, and Europe; seven species (four endemic) in China.

(Authors: Chen Yilin (陈艺林 Chen Yi-ling); Bertil Nordenstam)