沼菊 zhao ju

Herbs. Stems stout, cylindric, slightly fleshy, prostrate in lower part, 50-80 cm. Leaves subsessile, oblong or linear-oblong, 2-6 cm × 4-14 mm, both surfaces glabrous, base amplexicaul, margin sparsely serrate, apex obtuse or acute. Capitula 8-10 mm in diam.; involucre of 4 phyllaries, dorsally glabrous, outer pair larger, ovate-oblong, 10-11 mm, apex rounded; receptacle ca. 3 mm in diam.; paleae rigid, ca. 5 mm, apex toothed and sparsely pubescent. Ray florets ca. 3 mm, lamina 3- or 4-lobed in apex. Disk florets 5-lobed; stamens 5, rarely 6. Achenes obovoid-cylindric, ca. 3.5 mm. Fl. Nov-Apr.

Marshes, streamsides. Hainan, Yunnan [India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam; Australia].