乳白香青 ru bai xiang qing

Shrubs, much branched, erect or ascending, upper part with dense withered leaves, with terminal rosette of leaves and stems. Rhizome thickish. Stems erect, 10-40 cm, slightly thickish, simple, herbaceous, white or pallid tomentose, upper parts densely leafy. Rosette leaves lanceolate or spatulate-oblong, 6-13 × 0.5-2 cm, base attenuate into a winged, sheathlike petiole; lower leaves smaller than rosette leaves, margin flat, apex acute or acuminate, with or without short cusp; middle and upper leaves somewhat erect and adherent to stem, oblong, linear-lanceolate, or linear, 2-10 × 0.8-1.3 mm, base slightly narrow, decurrent on stem into a narrow wing, apex acuminate, with withered long cusp; all leaves white or pallid tomentose on both surfaces, 1- or 3-veined. Capitula numerous, densely compound corymbiform, at apex of stems or branches; peduncle 2-4 mm. Involucre campanulate, (5-)6(-7) × 5-7 mm; phyllaries 4- or 5-seriate; outer phyllaries light or dark brown, ovate, ca. 3 mm, tomentose; middle ones milky white, ovate-oblong, ca. 6 × 2-2.5 mm, apex rounded; innermost ones narrowly oblong, ca. 5 mm, with a ca. 2/3 of full length claw. Receptacle with fimbrillate short hairs. Predominantly female capitula with numerous marginal female florets, center with 2 or 3 male florets; predominantly male capitula with male florets only. Corolla tube 3-4 mm. Pappus slightly exceeding corolla, incrassate at tip of apex in male florets, serrulate. Achenes terete, ca. 1 mm, almost glabrous. Fl. and fr. Jun-Sep.

● Subalpine or low mountain grasslands or taiga; 2000-3400 m. S Gansu, E Qinghai (Datong, Menyuan, Qilian), NW Sichuan (Songpan).