Carpesium leptophyllum F. H. Chen & C. M. Hu; C. leptophyllum var. linearibracteatum F. H. Chen & C. M. Hu.

Herbs, perennial. Stems 50-100 cm tall, base woody and subglabrous, upper branched, puberulent. Leaves radical and cauline; radical leaves withering before flowering; lower and middle cauline leaves with 2-4 cm long petioles, elliptic or elliptic-lanceolate, 10-23 × 3.5-6 cm, both surfaces subglabrous or very sparsely pilose, abaxially light green, white and yellow globose glandular, adaxially deep green, costa purple, base cuneate, margin entire or with small cusps, apex acuminate; upper leaves sessile to shortly petiolate, lanceolate, 8-15 × 1.5-3 cm, base cuneate, margin subentire, apex acuminate. Capitula spicately arranged; axillary ones usually without bracteal leaves or very small bracteal leaves; terminal ones with 2-4 lanceolate 1.5-3.5 cm long bracteal leaves. Involucre hemispheric, 6-7 × 8-12 mm; phyllaries 4-seriate, outer ones ovate, ca. 3 mm, dry membranous, abaxially sparsely pubescent, apex acute, median oblong, 5-6 × ca. 2 mm, margin ciliate or serrulate, apex obtuse, innermost linear-lanceolate, 6-7 × ca. 1 mm, apex obtuse. Marginal florets 3- or 4-seriate, corolla tubular, ca. 2 mm, 5-dentate; disk florets tubular, 3-3.5 mm, limb 5-dentate. Achenes ca. 3 mm. Fl. Jul-Sep, fr. Sep-Oct.

● Moist forests, riversides, grasslands; 600-2300 m. Gansu, Guizhou, Hubei, Shaanxi, Sichuan.