球菊 qiu ju

Dolomiaea saussureoides (Handel-Mazzetti) Y. L. Chen & C. Shih.

Herbs 10-30 cm tall, perennial. Caudex stout, unbranched. Stem solitary, 4-6 mm in diam., erect, simple, hollow, basally sparsely arachnoid, apically densely lanate. Basal leaves many, petiolate; petiole 3-6 cm; leaf blade elliptic to broadly linear, 10-20 × 1-1.5 cm, runcinate, pinnately lobed, or pinnatifid, abaxially grayish white and densely tomentose, adaxially green and sparsely arachnoid tomentose but glabrescent; lobes 2-5 pairs, broadly or obliquely triangular, margin entire; terminal lobe elliptic to narrowly elliptic, apex acute to rounded. Stem leaves few, similar to basal leaves. Uppermost stem leaves linear, undivided. Capitulum solitary, drooping. Involucre globose, 5-6 cm in diam. Phyllaries in 5 or 6 rows, densely and fluffily lanate, apex long acuminate; outer and middle phyllaries triangular-subulate, 1.5-2.5 × 0.1-0.3 cm; inner phyllaries linear-subulate, 2.5-3.5 × 0.1-0.3 cm. Receptacle bristles to 1.1 cm. Corolla purplish red, ca. 1.6 cm, tube ca. 4 mm, limb ca. 1.2 cm, lobes ca. 2.5 mm. Achene brown, obconic, ca. 5 mm, 4- or 5-ribbed, apically with a rim. Pappus bristles scabrid, to 1.5 cm. Fl. and fr. Aug.

● Alpine scree slopes, cliffs, rocks, Rhododendron thickets; 4000-5000 m. Xizang (Nangxian).