Perennial herbs. Flowering stems scape-like, slender, simple or branched from lower part, 10-35 cm tall. Leaves mainly radical and rosulate, linear to narrowly elliptic in outline, 3-10 (-15)×0.5-3 cm, margins sinuate, sparsely serrate, cleft or pinnatifid, glabrous; cauline leaves few, reduced. Heads in compound corymbs; involucral bracts green, in 1 series, subequal, 4-5 mm long, obtuse, purple; outer bracteoles several, linear, 1-1.5 mm long. Ray florets 5 or 6, yellow, ca. 9.5 mm long, tube ca. 3.5 mm long; disc florets ca. 5 mm long. Achenes ribbed, ca. 2.8 mm long, sparsely appressed pubescent. Pappus silver white, brownish, ca. 4.5 mm long.
KAOHSIUNG: Chinching Bridge, Chung 1076. TAITUNG: Tienchi to Yakou, Ying s. n. Aug. 23, 1983 (Holotype!); Takuanshan, Peng 11812; Hsiangyang, Peng 11889.
Endemic; at base of slopes, roadsides, and on exposed river banks along the Southern Cross-island Highway, 2,000-3,200 m.
Senecio taitungensis is diagnostic by its scape-like flowering stems. However, intermediate forms between S. taitungensis and S. morrisonensis and S. nemorensis var. dentata are also encountered.
