盘状合头菊 pan zhuang he tou ju

Crepis disciformis Mattfeld, Notizbl. Bot. Gart. Berlin-Dahlem 12: 685. 1935; Lactuca disciformis (Mattfeld) Stebbins; Soroseris qinghaiensis C. Shih; Syncalathium qinghaiense (C. Shih) C. Shih.

Herbs 2-5 cm tall, perennial, rosulate, acaulescent. Taproot slender. Rosette leaves narrowly obovate to oblanceolate, 2-5 × 0.4-1.5 cm, green or particularly on rachis tinged purplish red, sinuate-dentate to pinnately lobed with toothlike lobes, ± pilose, base attenuate into a basally widened petiole-like portion. Synflorescence flat conical, 2-7 cm in diam., with some to numerous capitula. Capitula with 5 florets. Involucre narrowly cylindric, 10-12 × ca. 3 mm. Phyllaries 5, lanceolate, abaxially sparsely pilose on midvein, apex rounded to obtuse. Florets yellow, ligule ca. 3 mm. Achene brown, obconical, 3-4 mm, compressed, apex truncate. Pappus 6-8 mm. Fl. and fr. Sep-Oct. 2n = 16*.

● Alpine meadows, scree slopes, mountain slopes, gravelly areas; 3900-4800 m. Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan.

Led astray by the collector’s note, Mattfeld described the species as having purple florets, although he stated that the corolla appears yellow in the type material. The erroneous color designation has since been repeated in the literature, but it is clear that the species in fact has yellow florets. Leaf incision varies even within a population from weakly sinuate-dentate to pinnately lobed. Therefore, no differences exist with Syncalathium qinghaiense; following S. W. Liu (Fl. Qinghai. 3: 497. 1996), the two species are considered as conspecific.