Inula caspica var. paniculata C. H. An; I. falconeri J. D. Hooker.

Herbs, biennial. Plants bluish green, 30-50(-70) cm tall; stems mostly solitary, sometimes a few woody at base, smooth, reddish, or ± scabrid, squarrose white pilose in upper part, thinly ribbed, erect, rarely corymbiform-branched, branches rod-shaped, straight. Lower leaves narrowly oblong or lanceolate, 7-17 × 0.8-2.5 cm, narrowed at base into a petiole ca. 1 cm; upper leaves sessile, linear-lanceolate to linear, 5-10 × 0.5-0.6 cm, glabrous, sometimes covered with fine rigid bristles at margins and abaxially, verruculose, prominently 1-veined abaxially in middle, base subauriculate, slightly cordate-semiamplexicaul, margin entire, apex acute. Capitula 2-3.5 cm in diam., numerous, arranged in loose corymbiform synflorescences, on peduncles (0.3-)1.5-4(-6) cm, densely covered with rigid, tuberculate bristles and white multicellular long hairs. Involucre 1.5-2 cm in diam.; phyllaries acute, 1-veined, margins covered with short rigid, tuberculate squarrose cilia, sometimes in upper part reddish and unbent, outer phyllaries lanceolate-linear or linear, 5-6(-8) × 1-1.3 mm, leathery, inner ones narrowly linear, 7-10 × ca. 1 mm, membranous. Ray florets yellow, 9-10(-14) mm, exceeding phyllaries by ca. 1/3; tube small, 3-4 mm, as long as or slightly shorter than pappus; lamina linear, ca. 7 × 1 mm, unbent, 3- or 4-veined, lower part covered outside with yellow, sessile glands, tridentate, teeth deltate, equal, obtuse. Disk florets yellow, obconical, ca. 6 mm, slightly longer than pappus, 5-dentate, teeth equal, acute, glandular outside. Achenes brown, linear-oblong, 1.2-1.5 × ca. 0.5 mm, ribbed, pubescent with white long appressed hairs, 3-4 × as long as achenes. Pappus of 20-25 straight bristles. Fl. Jul-Sep.

Inula falconeri was described based on specimens from W Xizang. According to Fl. India (13: 17. 1995) and Fl. Pakistan (210: 24. 2003), it is also distributed in India and Pakistan. Its descriptions and illustrations are comparable with those of I. caspica, and it appears to be a synonym of the latter, which is widely distributed.

Streamsides or riverbanks in deserts; 200-2400 m. Xinjiang, Xizang [India, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Russia (Siberia), Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan; SW Asia].